Under Construction

Working with the Architect

Neil O'Boyle

• Publisher: SPCK
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780281082087
• Topic: Teología y religión
• Subtopic: Ministerio cristiano

Imagine yourself as a house under construction. What does it mean to develop as a follower of Jesus?Jesus wants to remake us, from the ground up, to reconstruct us so that we become the people he had in mind. Christians are built on his firm foundation. But if we barely allow Jesus through the front door, it is no surprise that we are left wondering whether this really is as good as it gets.Neil O'Boyle shows us what it means to open ourselves up, so that the light of Christ shines into the dark nooks and exposes the sagging rafters. In the living room, what are we watching? In the bathroom, do we take care of ourselves? In the privacy of our bedroom, what are we like? In the dining room, what are our guests doing? In the garden, will there be fruit? In the garden shed, what tools has Jesus given us?Neil is National Director for British Youth for Christ. He has served as a missionary in Cyprus, the Arabian Gulf, Thailand and America. He is passionate about evangelism and has a wealth of experience as a leader and team builder. He and his wife Joy have four children.

‘What if this is as good as it gets?’

That was my opening line to a room packed full of teenagers on the last night of a Christian festival. My point was that every year their parents made them attend the festival (because they were at the adult version) and every year they were challenged to live passionately for God, going home ready to give their faith a chance. However, within a few weeks, most of them would return to their old habits and routines, and their faith would take a back seat, until the next compulsory festival came around.

What if that is as good as the Christian experience gets? Struggle, temptation, guilt, followed by the annual reset at the big Christian festival, and then comes struggle, temptation, guilt, annual reset, and on it goes.

God has so much more for us than that! When Jesus said, ‘I have come in order that you might have life – life in all its fullness’ (John 10.10, gnb), I don’t think he had in mind a cycle of defeats and resets. There definitely are challenges, difficulties and discouragements along the way, but many of us are yet to figure out the life God has for us.

At the end of the road where I grew up was an old derelict house. Parts of the roof had caved in and nailed wooden panels covered the windows and doors to prevent trespassers. My parents hated the very sight of the house, hoping it would be bulldozed. My brother told me an old man had been killed in that house and his spirit tormented anyone who dared to go inside. As a 10-year-old boy, there was obviously only one thing to do – break in!

In broad daylight, on one particular summer’s day, my brother and I crept up to the door, pulled two panels off and squeezed between the gap. We were inside.

It was dark, but streaks of light shone through the boarded-up window panels and parts of the missing roof. The floorboards were broken, the walls crumbling and the stairs creaked as we headed to the first floor. My heart was beating so hard I thought my brother might have heard it, and if not him then the ghost of the murdered old man must surely have sensed my fear.

On the first floor, in what must have been the former owner’s bedroom, there was no sight nor sound of a tormenting spirit. We stood in silence. My brother eventually started to call him, ‘Come out, old man; we are here in your house!’ No response. And then ‘BOOM!’

I jumped in terror and ran for the stairs. I couldn’t get out quick enough. My brother was shouting, ‘Come on, let’s get out . . . it’s coming!’ I was at the door – I was struggling to get through the gap we had created. ‘Get out!’ my brother shrieked.

I eventually rolled through and ended up in a ball on the floor outside. I started to get up. My brother was now through, but he was laughing!

‘What?’ I asked, confused, scrambling to my feet.

‘You should have seen your face when I went “Boom”!’

Reality began to dawn on me, and fear started quickly to give way to anger. My brother had orchestrated the whole thing. There was no old man.

That house had been neglected and needed serious renovation. It needed an owner who would love it and invest in repairing it – to restore it not to its former self, but to something even greater. Eventually someone bought that old house and did exactly that. It received more than tender loving care; it received a substantial investment.

Very recently, I bought my own house. Within a short period of time, the roof developed a leak and we faced a hefty bill to get it fixed. Being the owner, and wanting to keep the house in good order, I had little choice but to fix it. I now have a watertight new roof.

What if our lives were compared to a house? Can you say your house is in perfect order and everything works the way it should, and looks impeccable to visitors? Or, if we are truthful, are there a few problems such as the roof or the plumbing, and might the viewing of some rooms be off limits to guests? Lots of people live with issues of shame that they lock away, hidden out of sight; others struggle about comparisons – perhaps the house is too small, with little value? Some might fear ridicule over the limited possibilities that their house might have, a lack of potential perhaps, and some may just be embarrassed that the house has not had much care, losing its shape or its appearance. Whatever the issues, you might feel that your house is not perfect and you desire its transformation. But for whatever reason, that seems most unlikely to happen. Do you need an architect or a miracle worker? Are the floorboards corroding – which can easily be fixed – or are the walls beginning to lean, with large ugly cracks developing, making the house potentially dangerous?

What if the original designer or architect of your home wanted to pay a visit? He or she wants to come by and see how the house looks today – if it is in good condition, and whether there have been any modifications and improvements. How would you feel? While I have never had an architect ask to make an inspection, for years we have lived in rented accommodation, which meant the house was not ours, and once or twice a year the owner would turn up and check whether we were taking care of his or her property. Sometimes the visit went well. Sometimes the owner felt we had not cared for the house properly.

What state is your metaphorical house in today? Being a Christian means I see the world in a certain way. For example, I believe that you were made by God (the Master Architect): not as an accident – the Bible says God knew your name before the beginning of time; nor as an experiment – the Bible also says that God knit you together in your mother’s womb and you were wonderfully made. Somewhere along the way, that which God has made has taken its fair share of wear and tear, and things are not quite as they were designed to be.

Let me tell you my story. I struggled at school; I had concentration challenges, so paid no attention, and my grades indicated I had the intelligence of a goldfish. I was an introvert and so wasn’t socially outgoing. I was small and not overly strong, and I was of average appearance. I certainly wasn’t a strong A in any area of my life – more like a consistent D across the board.

My lack of confidence resulted in a bunch of poor choices and, to cut a very long story short, those choices had a serious impact on my overall well-being. On New Year’s Eve, at the age of 16, I found myself locked up in a hospital unit. It was the kind that had bars outside my window. My choices had left me anxious, depressed and suicidal. My ‘house’ was crumbling and I certainly didn’t want guests: any attention was embarrassing. In reality I had failed to pay the mortgage and the bank was taking ownership of my property. I had lost control.

After what felt like an eternity I was eventually released, though to be honest I didn’t feel any better. I gained an increased fear of social settings and didn’t want to go outside. I had lost all of my friends, which at this stage in life suited me fine. I had an old classmate who had heard my story and must have felt sorry for me because he kept calling and wanted to meet up.

By this point I couldn’t even answer the door or pick up the phone. My mum became so frustrated that she insisted I speak to Mark (my classmate) and I eventually forced myself to speak on the phone. He said that he wanted to take me out, and if I agreed to go once he would leave me alone in future. That seemed like a great offer. I weighed up my fear of going outside with his promise to back off, and accepted the terms. I stupidly did not ask where we were going.

He picked me up, and to this day I can remember feeling overwhelmed as I left the house after weeks of being inside. We drove to the nearby town and pulled up outside what appeared to be a church. I followed him into the hall and immediately wanted to turn around. The hall must have had over 200 young people. It felt as if everyone was looking at me (I later discovered they were, as Mark had asked them to pray for me, and they were surprised I had turned up).

I was at some weird church event called Youth for Christ. Was this some kind of cult? A band started to play trendy Christian songs and everyone joined in. It felt as if I was witnessing a freak show. These creepy Christians seemed unusually ecstatic, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were paid to smile like that. Nobody could be that happy!

I had had enough. I needed to get out. I was starting to have a panic attack around these weirdos. At that moment the band stopped playing and everyone sat down. I was now the only one standing, so, feeling awkward, I took a seat. At this point a young woman got up to speak, but I quickly zoned out and didn’t listen to a word of what she said.

I zoned back in for her last sentence. ‘If you are here tonight and you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour then you can do so and give him your life!’ Absolutely nothing about that statement made any sense. ‘Lord and Saviour’ and ‘give him my life’? What did she mean? Who taught her to talk like that?

Something stirred within me like a washing machine on full spin, and I found myself praying, ‘Okay, God, I don’t know if you even exist, but if you do then you can take my stupid pathetic life, because if you don’t, I will!’

A moment passed, and then I realized I had just done something I should have thought through, because whoever God might be, I became increasingly aware that there was a very good chance he had just heard me. I started to feel different: I felt a sense of inexplicable peace. I then felt as if electricity was going through my body on a voltage that seemed high enough to fry me. Everything around me began to disappear and I felt I was in the presence of something much greater than myself or anything else I had ever encountered. I had a suspicion I had caught God’s attention, crazy as that might seem.

I left that building that night feeling totally different. My fear had completely subsided and I had a profound sense of hope. I felt as though the God of the universe had personally reached out and made contact.

Since that night I have never looked back and I have never been the same again. Jesus said, ‘I have come to heal the broken hearted, set the captives free and release the oppressed’ (Luke 4.18, m...