Love Story

Did you know that all of us are part of a grand love story? It is a love story written by God himself before the world was made or time began.

Today, the world has so distorted and diluted the courtship process that it is sometimes hard to understand how God explains his grand love story. In order to understand our relationship to Christ, we must understand how the ancient world courtship and marriage customs operated.

In those days...

When a man loved a woman, he began to pursue her. The woman's role was reactionary. Her heart did not belong to him so the suitor had to win it from her. In his quest to win her heart, he showered her with affection, gave her tokens, and performed acts of kindness to show his love for her. The woman had to decide if she would accept the suitor's affections or reject them. Eventually the suitor would approach the lady's father to ask for her hand in marriage. If her father approved, he would require a bride-price. The suitor then approached the lady and asked for her hand in marriage. While by this point in the courtship it would probably have been a sure thing, the lady could still reject his offer and walk away from the relationship. If she accepted his hand they become betrothed (or engaged). Unlike modern engagements, these could not be terminated. When two people became engaged, the marriage was already agreed to and the covenant was already in place. The two were still kept apart (intimately) during this time, and would not come together until the wedding day.

Scripture tells us many times that Christ is our bridegroom and that we the Church are his bride. (John 3:27-30, Ephesians 5:22-32) We are betrothed to him and one day there will be a wedding celebration where we will at last come to know him just as we are fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12) When that happens we will be made one with him just as a husband and his wife are one. We will become perfect with him and dwell in his glorious presence forever, showering him with respect and admiration.

And this is the Church's love story...

Christ loved us. He pursued us. We did not seek him nor did we pursue him, for we did not know him nor were our hearts with him. (Romans 3:11) Christ would have to win our hearts. (1 John 4:19) He poured out his love for us on the cross, proving his undying love for us as he took on our sins. When he ascended to the Father, he offered his blood as the bride-price, which the Father accepted. (1 Corinthians 6:20) Christ then came to each one of us when we heard the gospel, offering his hand to us in marriage. He offers his hand to all, for he loved the world entire. (John 3:16) Many will reject his proposal despite all he has done for them. Those of us who accept his hand are betrothed or engaged to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2) Now betrothed, we are promised in marriage to Christ, so the marriage cannot be called off. (Ephesians 1:13) This marriage covenant cannot be broken. (Matthew 19:6, Romans 11:29) We are now destined for marriage with Christ. (Romans 8:29) As our wedding draws near, Christ through the Word cleanses us and prepares us for our wedding day. (Ephesians 5:25-27) On that glorious day when the trumpet sounds, we will at last be joined to Christ as his wife for all eternity. (Revelation 19:7-9)

The Self-Existing One

I am fascinated by the actual substance of who God is. The Word shows us that God is worthy of praise just for who he is, and not only for what he does for us.

When God revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush, Moses asked him his name. God responds with a phrase that would be later translated as I AM who I AM. This statement of I AM is difficult to translate in English, but it is a statement of who God is rather than just a name. (Exodus 3:14) In Hebrew this is translated as Yahweh (mod. Jehovah), a sacred name the Jews were afraid to speak out loud. The name means roughly "the self-existing one". All of creation is dependent on God, but God is only dependent on himself.

At a marriage conference recently, I was shown that husbands, who are masculine, require significance in a relationship. Wives, who are feminine, require security. In this way the husband is dependent on the wife and the wife her husband in the marriage covenant. (1 Peter 3:1-7)

All men and women in Christ make up the body of Christ which is the Church. The Church we know is the bride of Christ, and this relationship is often described as being like a marriage. (Ephesians 5:25-27, Romans 7:1-6)

If this relationship is a marriage, then it is clear that the Church is feminine. Men are masculine in the flesh and women are feminine in the flesh, but in the Spirit, all humans are feminine. (Galatians 3:28) The Church needs security and love, and Christ provides us with that need.

But what about Christ? Is he dependent on the Church for significance? Not at all. Christ's love and protection of his Bride are entirely one-way. Christ is also in another relationship with the Father. In this relationship, Christ gains security from the Father, and the Father gains significance from the Son, and the Spirit testifies to both of them. Since the Father, Son and Spirit are one and the same, God gains his security and significance from Himself alone, thus another facet of how Yahweh is totally self-sustaining. (John 10:30, Psalm 50:12)

The Pride of Life

Of all our enemies, Pride may be the worst.

Recently, two of my friends who are in a relationship asked me if I could provide them with any advice to making a marriage work. "You have to kill your pride," I said "and kill it often. Live for the other, and not for yourself."

Pride, and the selfishness it always causes, can mask itself in the guise of "self-preservation". Often times, I justify my selfishness because, after all, if I don't watch out for my needs, who will?

The answer is that God will. God promises to take care of us and watch out for our needs (Matthew 6:25-27). It is the Lord who will defend us and take up our cause. We are not to look out for ourselves alone, but also other's interests (Philippians 2:4).

Pride conspires to cause all other sin in you. It is pride that convinces someone that it's ok to steal (after all, you deserve it). It is pride that convinces someone to murder (that person deserves it, you have to take justice in your own hands). It is pride that convinces people to tell lies (you have to protect your own interests, reputation, etc). Pride is the root of much evil.

It is pride that causes you to be offended. Look at the life of Jesus, he was ridiculed, mocked, and worse. Yet he was never offended, despite being the Holy One of Heaven. This was because Jesus Christ had no pride in him. We are offended by the words of others because we think too much of ourselves. If we become truly humble, truly submissive to God and come to grips with who we are in Christ, we have no cause to be offended.

What is even more interesting, is that pride (and selfishness) cause us misery. Pride and selfishness produce a discontent spirit, who is never happy with what he has been given. It is a spirit never satisfied, never stable or content. Once you allow yourself to believe you deserve anything, you will never stop adding to that pile of things you don't have but should. You will never be happy, and joy will be lost. In the end, pride takes everything, and gives you nothing it promised to begin with.

So pride must be slain, but how does one kill pride?

First, pride is slain by remembering your place in this world. We are all sinners, rebels against God. God sent his own Son as a sacrifice for our sins. We deserved death, we were given life, and God took the debt upon himself instead on the cross. We have been crucified with Christ, and now the life we live we live for the One who gave himself for us. Christ was a servant to all, and so should we. If we desire to be like Christ, we desire to be counted as least among all, to be a servant to everyone, and to give any glory we receive to God instead.

Second, pride is slain in remembering that God will take care of you and all your needs. Not one hair on your head is forgotten by God, and you need not worry about providing for yourself, God will take care of that.

Third, pride is slain in remembering what it has gained you in the past. By reflecting on the terrible consequences you have suffered at the hands of pride, you can more easily resist its temptation to be selfish.

Pastor Johnny Hunt once said that pride was the one flaw that like Jesus, could rise from the dead. No matter how often you slay pride, it returns again and again, often in various guises. Pride is something that must be slain on a regular basis in order to keep ahead of its destructive influence.

A famous hymn says "I pour contempt on all my pride." Webster's dictionary defines contempt as: the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn. We are to hate our pride, to consider it worthless.

Remember, we are living sacrifices, a sacrifice has no rights, it is given totally up to God for his use.

Hearsay and Heresy

From Webster's Dictionary

Hearsay: unverified, unofficial information gained or acquired from another and not part of one's direct knowledge.

Heresy: opinion or doctrine at variance with the orthodox or accepted doctrine, esp. of a church or religious system.

The reason hearsay isn't allowed into evidence at court is because hearsay is almost always inaccurate, and often times, is woefully so.
Despite the fact God has given man many ways to communicate (written and spoken language, dialect, body language, visual aids, etc), we humans find it very hard to get our point across some times.

Truthfully I do not have the actual statistics, but I do know that even if two very intelligent people who speak the same language and come from the same background and have the very same knowledge base and dialect communicate, a portion of the information will still be lost or hopelessly distorted between them. If the receiver then tries to relay that same information to another person, even more information is lost and distorted. The more that information is relayed, the more it becomes distorted and full of holes until at last no one has any clue what the original intention was. And this is assuming all the communicators have the same intelligence, background, language, dialect, and so on. Most people don't, and so the loss of information between communicators is even more severe.

So then, even amongst Christians who all believe in the same Bible and the same God, communication between them still causes a loss or distortion of information. Repeating that process causes yet more distortions.

Too many Christians rely on hearsay for their faith. What the preacher tells them or what their parents taught them or even what strangers in Christ have said. They do not look it up and seek God for themselves. Even if your parents had good intentions, what you thought they taught you might not be what they were really trying to teach. And who's to know that even they got their information from the original Source? They might have passed that religious teaching down from their parents, or grandparents, or even back further through the ancestry. So one Bible lesson from great great grandpappy Tom has become so distorted and lost through the years that is now nothing close to what Old Tom was trying to teach his youngins about Jesus.

Hearsay can lead to heresy very easily. Many Christians believe and act a certain way not because God told them to do so, but because other Christians did. They believe that the word from God was brought to them undamaged and undistorted, but even with the best Christian this is impossible. My friends, trust nothing but the Source, that is, the Word of God. Test anything taught to you with the Truth that is the Word.

Flag Worship

Recently, I attended a Christian men's conference. It was a wonderful experience that helped my Christian walk tremendously.

However, when the conference started, it opened not with a prayer, psalm or spiritual song, but the Star Spangled Banner, the United States' National Anthem.

I will admit, I did not sing along or put my hand over my chest. I didn't show any respect. I was too busy staring at everyone with my jaw on the floor. It would have been bad enough to venerate a nation when were supposed to be gathered to worship the Living God of all the earth, but to place such a thing before God? To have this before meeting with the Lord?

I am very grateful to God that He, in His mercy, arranged my dwelling place to be in this nation. For here there is always plenty to eat, and I am not physically abused or persecuted for my faith in Christ. I am obedient to my government only as much as commanded by the Lord, who says to obey the laws of the land, respect my leaders, and live in peace. I am a loyal citizen of only one Kingdom and one people, the Kingdom and people of God Most High. I am merely a pilgrim in America, pitching my tent here until the Lord bids me go elsewhere. I am a foreigner in a strange land no matter where I go on this earth.

It seems that there are many Christians living in the U.S. who believe the U.S. to be special, better than other lands in the eyes of God. Perhaps some believe it to be the "city on a hill" that many Puritan and Separatists hoped it would be when they first settled in the New World. I am sad to say that none of this is true. The U.S. is not a "godly nation" and it never has been. Like every nation on the earth, it is filled with godless men who pervert the ways of righteousness and satisfy their evil desires, and only a small remnant have turned back to God and have been brought into the everlasting covenant with Christ Jesus.

Why do Christians in the U.S. believe it is good to glorify and honor America? Do we not say and sing "to God be the glory", or "glory to God alone"? If so, why do we then give honor and praise to the United States, its leaders, its flag, or any such thing?

My church has a Fourth of July service each year. Every time we sing several songs in honor to the nation which do not mention the Lord our God. I feel grieved in my spirit every time it happens.

I see nothing wrong with thanking God for our country, or for placing us in it, or to pray for our leaders, that God would guide and handle them for His glory and His Kingdom. But to glorify the land itself, or the nation itself is little more than idolatry.

On a side note, I find it interesting that the National Anthem of the U.S. was once "America the Beautiful", which not only mentions God but glorifies and thanks Him. Now it is replaced by a poem made song of an entirely secular nature. I wonder why there aren't any Christian protests about that when there are so many over other things.

Brethren, I am happy to be in the United States, but I would take up my house, as Abram did, and leave for foreign lands should the Lord ask it. I would have trouble adjusting, I am certain, for I am still in the flesh, but I would be just as welcome and as foreign there as here, for my God is King of Kings and is Lord of all the earth.

America exists only because God wills it. For the time being, America serves the Lord's purposes, willingly or unwillingly. The day may soon come however when the Lord no longer has need of America, and will bring it down just as He brought down all the nations and empires of old. America is not special, it is no different than Rome or Babylon or any other great empire or kingdom.

The only kingdom to be exalted is the Kingdom of God, which is not of this world. For if it had been, God would already have set it up here with power. (John 18:36) We are only pilgrims in this land, we are only passing through. Do not worship this land or the flag above it, for they shall pass.

Best Friends Forever?

Many of us who walk with the Lord Jesus Christ see Him as our kind and compassionate friend, among other things.

In many sermons of late, however, I have heard many preachers say something to the effect; "Too many Christians see God as a friend and buddy, and fail to treat Him with respect. They call on Him only when they need Him, and are quick to leave Him or deny Him when it is convenient."

Because of this, some people say we should not view God as a friend, or we won't treat Him with the proper love and respect, but I say what is your definition of a friend? Is a friend someone you only call upon to solve your problems? Is a friend someone you would walk away from or deny in a time of crisis or hardship? Perhaps our view of God as a friend is not the problem, but instead it is our idea of what friendship is that is flawed.

Our Lord said that there is no greater love than a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. (Proverbs 17:17)

Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away. (Proverbs 27:10)

These are only a sample of what the Word has to tell us about true friendship and brotherhood. So I say yes, the Lord Christ is my good friend, my best friend, my everlasting friend, and at times, He has been my only friend. I will serve Him faithfully as a loyal friend and will lay down my life daily as a living sacrifice for Him. Blessed is the name of the Lord, who is my trusted friend.

Resurrection in the Old Testament

In the due course of my historical studies at my university, I have heard from some professors that the concept of a Resurrection and eternal life with God is a post-ancient concept, found only in the New Testament and other works of that age. This, however, is an outright fabrication. From the beginning, the Most High has told us of His plan to raise us from the dead, to be judged, and thereafter to spend eternity either with Him, or separated forever from Him.

What by ignorance or by design these "learned" professors fail to distinguish the distinct difference between the truth of God's Resurrection and the gnostic philosophies created by Greeks in the later B.C. and early first centuries. In Greco-Roman thought generally, the body was thought to be the prison of the soul. Evil matter is temporal and the spirit is eternal. In Gnostic religious systems, moreover, the believer required special revelation knowledge to ascend through the dangerous celestial spheres to escape the material universe. The god of spirits - sought by Gnostics - was not interested in the revival of dead bodies. According to their religious system, the material universe was composed of evil matter, which is contrasted to the spiritual realm. Greeks longed to be free from the confines of the body. While they did believe in the survival of the human soul after death, the notion that the body would be reunited with the soul in a physical resuscitation was foreign to their conceptual world.

The Jewish people, however, believed that God created our world. Our physical world is God's creation, and it is good. The Pharisees, in contrast to the Greco-Roman religious beliefs, vigorously affirmed the doctrine of the resurrection of the physical body, which would be reunited with the spirit of an individual. Their worldview embraced a future restoration of God's original design for His world. The Pharisees envisioned a time of redemption in which God would realign the physical creation with the ethereal realm. Contrary to what some teach, the concept of bodily resurrection is not one that is mentioned only in the New Testament. God has been revealing this truth to us from the beginning. The Pharisees (Jewish experts on the Old Testament, or Torah) had been teaching and proclaiming this truth since before the time of Christ.

Rabbi Gamaliel, the Apostle Paul's mentor, had this to say when confronted by people claiming there was no resurrection. (You'll remember Gamaliel's wise words to the Sanhedrin in Acts 5:34-39.)

~The heretics asked Rabban Gamaliel, "How do you prove that the Holy One, blessed be He, will resurrect the dead?" He answered, "From the Torah, from the Prophets, and from the Writings. From the Torah: it is written, 'And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold you are about to sleep with your fathers; but then you will rise again"' (Deut. 31:16)." "But perhaps," they argued, "the text reads, 'and they shall rise up.'" [But Rabban Gamaliel countered], "Also from the Prophets: as it is written, "Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. O dwellers of the dust, awake and sing for joy! For thy dew is a dew of light, and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall'" (Isa. 26:19) [The Saducees retorted,] "Perhaps this is referring to the dead who were resurrected to Ezekiel?" [Rabban Gamaliel, however, argued, "The resurrection is] also taught in the Writings, as it is written: 'and your palate like the best wine that goes down smoothly, making the lips of the sleepers to speak [in Pharisaic interpretation, "sleepers" may be understood as "the dead"]' (Songs of Solomon 7:9)."~

This entire argument was made from the Old Testament (Torah, Prophets, and Writings) alone, with no New Testament references. There are more such scriptures, such as Daniel 12:2, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." This proves the doctrine of Resurrection is not one introduced only by Christ and the New Testament, but one that has, from the beginning, been revealed to men by God as His plan for the last day.

[Some excerpts here are from Paul, the Jewish Theologian]

The Root of All Sin

A certain man was hiking in the woods, and came upon a terrible scene. Before him lay a huge, smoldering crater, surrounded by scorched and uprooted trees. Twisted metal was strewn all around, and the tail of a passenger airliner was planted in the ground nearby. If you thought this was a plane crash, you are wrong. It is actually the result of a plane crash. The crash occured hours ago, and all that remains now is the wreckage. The problem that caused this crash occured even earlier, perhaps while the plane was high in the air and far from here, when all seemed serene and fine. That problem, however, was the result of a damage or defect that probably occured months earlier, when the plane was still on the ground. It may have even flown several flights with this defect with no real trouble. The trouble only manifested when a certain situation allowed the defect to reveal itself, causing the plane to dive to its destruction.

Sinful acts are never the actual problem, or even the cause of the problem. They are only the consequence of a fatal flaw in a person that developed long ago, but only now had the opportunity to manifest itself as an act of sin.

Suppose a man lies to his brother. The question that man should ask himself is not "why did I lie to my brother" but rather "why do I fear the truth?". Likewise, if a man covets his neighbor's goods, he should not ask himself "why do I covet those things?" but rather "why am I not content?". The flaw lies not in the situation or the sin itself, but rather a defect of the heart within. Some call these "character flaws". If you feel trapped in a habitual sin, it is because you have a defect, a flaw, that is deep within. When you try to correct the sin, you are only treating the symptoms, not the cause, which mean soon enough the sin will return. God has promised us life, and life abundantly. He has promised to take care of our needs and to give us joy, peace, and all sorts of wonderful things. He has promised whatever we do not receive here is stored as treasure in Heaven, where neither moth or rust corrupt and thieves cannot break in and steal. The reason we sin is because we don't believe God. It's a harsh thing to come to grips with, but that is the truth. When we don't believe in one of God's promises, we develop a fatal flaw in that area of our lives. Then, when a test comes, we fall short and sin against God, because we did not believe His way would work, and we tried a different way. Consider Eve in the garden, where all sin began. The serpent, who we know is the Devil, simply tells Eve that God is a liar, that the fruit will not kill her, and that God has lied to them to keep them from something fantastic. If Eve had trusted God, she would have known eating the fruit meant death, and that it did not hold anything she needed, or even wanted. She did not however, and neither did Adam, who simply believed the lie by proxy. Satan is still lying to us. He tells us God cannot be trusted. He tells us that God is trying to keep from us the things we really need and want. He tells us if we would only break God's laws and take what we want, we would really be happy. The Devil is lying, sin's wages are death. Do not believe the lie. By the time your airplane is in a nose-dive, it's too late to correct the defect. You really can stand on God's promises. Every day I see Him blessing me in ways I could never have imagined, and sometimes I weep because I didn't always believe He would. Oh we of little faith, why do we doubt? I hear the Savior say, "Thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness watch and pray, and find in Me thine all in all."

A Thousand Deaths

"The man that worries about his own death will die a thousand times before death comes for him." - Unknown

That quote was on my first family doctor's office wall. It was the caption to a painting of a young man gazing into a mirror, with the reflection of an old, withered man staring back. I will never forget it.

Worrying accomplishes nothing. Whether you worry about death itself, situations, money, or terrible (and often irrational) "what if" situations, worrying only serves to cause you to live out the dreaded situation before (if it even does) come to pass. In the end, most of our dreaded fears never materialize, meaning that we suffer needlessly. What is even worse is that with much worry often comes discouragement and even sin. At the least, worrying can discourage you from doing what you ought to do for God, and at the worst, it can cause you to sin. Sometimes, just worrying about what might happen will tempt us to act upon it as if it is happening. How foolish! It's not just a good idea not to worry, it's actually a divine command. "Be anxious for nothing." Philippians 4:6 says the Word. That is a command, hence it is actually a sin to worry. It is a sin because worrying automatically implies a distrust of God. For God promises to take care of us. He promises it over and over and over in both the Old and New Testaments. I am not even going to list scriptures to support that, because if you read the Bible at all you will find plenty of promises from God to take care of His children.

I leave you with this passage from the Gospel of Luke, where the Lord is teaching His disciples about worrying and God's provision for us. One day when I was worrying about things, it greatly encouraged and convicted me. May it do the same for you.

"Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Luke 12:22-34

Making a Difference

Now somewhere along the coast there was a great storm, and the storm was very violent with exceedingly high waves. The waves caught up with them the starfish that feed on the ocean bottom and all night heaped them upon the beach, where they were sure to die the next day.

The following morning a certain man was walking along the beach, and saw that a great multitude of starfish had been exiled there. The dying starfish were all along the beach to the north and to the south, as far as one could see. Their number was so great the sand of the beach could scarcely be seen.

As he walked, he saw a young boy who was also walking across the beach. The boy was carefully picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the life-giving ocean one by one. The man marveled at this.

"Boy, what are you doing?" said the man.

"I am saving the starfish." said the boy with enthusiasm.

"Boy, do you not see the great number of starfish? Even if you worked all day and night, you would not make a difference." said the man.

The boy stooped down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the ocean.

"I made a difference for that one." he said quietly.

Finding Joy

Finding joy is something each of us truly wants on a constant basis. None of us wishes to be sad or depressed. No one looks forward to despair and dreariness. We all want to be happy, to be positive, but sometimes true happiness can seem hard to find.

The reason many of us miss out on joy is simply because we are too focused on ourselves. Our personal lives will not always go the way we want. There may be times of poverty, of sickness, of loneliness, of confusion, of tragedy, of disaster. In those times, we can't seem to find joy because we are looking for it only in our own lives.

But there is joy to be found. God is always blessing His people continually, and while you may not be having a good day, one of your brothers or sisters in Christ probably is. If you can get "caught up" in their happiness, you also will be happy. When you do this, you can be blessed from someone else's blessing.

You see, we are all one in Christ Jesus. Those in Christ are all adopted children of God, and that makes us all brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Therefore, when one is blessed, all are blessed.

As such, you can always find joy. If your own life seems like a raincloud, just open your eyes and look around at your family. You'll see a mother holding her newborn child. Maybe a couple is soon getting married. Perhaps a spiritual sibling finally lands the job they always wanted. God is always blessing His people, and if you take a look around, you can see it everywhere. Once you accept that any Christian's blessing is also your own blessing, you will discover you cannot handle the number of blessings that God is working in our lives.

The enemy, of course, has his own weapon against this, and it is jealousy. We know jealousy is wickedness, for love is never jealous. If you are jealous of your brother or sister's happiness, then you do not love them. We are to rejoice with one another's good fortune, not be envious or covetous of it.

The truth is God is always good to us, and He is always working on our behalf, but we cannot always see it. Much as a beautiful cathedral looks shabby when in construction or repair, our own lives can sometimes be in "renovation". The cathedral is covered in plastic and dust, cluttered with tools and scaffolding, and filled with the noise of work. God promises us all that the finished product will be marvelous, but while it's under repair and construction, it can look like a mess. When life is like this, look at the other cathedrals (and by this I mean the lives of other Christians), and see what marvelous work the Lord has done there, knowing that our God is faithful, and what He has done for them He will do for you also.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
- Philippians 4:8