“I have come to build and to be rebuilt”

Our tour guide Salo told us that this is what the Jews say when they return to live in Israel. I found this statement absolutely profound. It made me ask myself, “Have I come to build or do I just focus on being rebuilt?”

First, A Little History

There are a multitude of scriptures pointing to the restoration and return of a remnant to Israel (e.g. Is. 10:21-22; 11:11-12; 14:1). As you can see I’ve been reading a lot of Isaiah lately! In the early 1800s “Zionism” was founded as a political movement dedicated to the creation of a Jewish state. With a number of snowballing circumstances over the course of the next 100+ years, concluding with a year-long war with the Palestinian Arabs, Israel declared their independence in 1948.

Since establishing their independence, Jews have been immigrating to Israel in droves. Immigration to Israel is referred to as aliyah (literally, ascension). Under Israel’s Law of Return, any Jew who has not renounced the Jewish faith (by converting to another religion) can automatically become an Israeli citizen. 

As they have returned, the Jews have undergone the process of rebuilding their land. The Jewish National Fund is an organization that is involved in the reforestation of the land (over 240 million trees planted), creating sustainable agriculture, soil conservation and solving the water crisis by creative means.

At the same time, many Jews who return to their homeland are being healed of the scars of the past. I visited a Holocaust museum in Israel which was a powerful demonstration of not only the brutality and atrocious acts unleashed on the Jews, but also the resilience and hope of a people that were not exterminated by hatred and evil. Many have suffered from feelings of anti-Semitism and the return to their homeland provides a refuge and a sense of pride and belonging.

Am I Building?

All this made me reflect on my own life and begs the question “Am I building?” Much of Western Christianity revolves around accepting Jesus Christ as savior and getting your pass to heaven. Everything else is just done in anticipation of that day.  We go along with our lives and manage to fit God in there along the way. There is a huge focus on having our lives rebuilt but not so much of a focus on building anything here that lasts.

I realized that its time for me to start building. I want to see transformation not just in my life, but in lives of those around me. I want to see my community changed. I want to see Jesus break into South Florida. I want to build something that lasts.

I love how Bethel Church in Redding, CA says that they want their city to be a cancer-free zone. That’s what it means to build for the kingdom. I want to see Jesus’ prayer of “on earth as it is in heaven” fulfilled.

God is doing a work in the hearts of Jews and he is preparing a remnant for His return. He is using the Gentiles to provoke them to jealousy (Rom. 11:11). I want to use their motto and let the Lord not just rebuild me, but to use me to build His kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven.