Our old house needed a new roof, and yesterday was the day. Roofers came at 7 am and went at it, taking off the old shingles and tarpaper, checking the wood, and then replacing the old with the new. I got home at 4 pm, in my suit… suit signals a different kind of life…and sat on the deck to watch this crew of four. “I couldn’t do that,” I kept thinking. I’m afraid of being up on the roof, I couldn’t carry those heavy bags of shingles, I couldn’t bend and nail, I couldn’t do all that with a heavy tool belt… Suits sometimes think the world revolves around us but yesterday was a strong reminder to me to respect everyone who works hard.
I watched and went theological, which is what I do in my nice suit. With respect came sadness that we in the church sometimes show a superior attitude toward those who aren’t like us. They spoke a language I don’t understand, their heart language. I presume they were saying things like, “I need the nail gun” or whatever, but maybe they were talking about the suit watching them from the deck. Getting the love of God into the heart language of people is what mission is about, and celebrating the gathering of different faces and tongues into the kingdom of God is what heaven will be. “Behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…” (Revelation 7:9).
The roofers worked until dark, a reminder to me, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day” (John 9:4).
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