Building Houses

Johnny Cash wasn’t known for his theology.

It was his iconic voice humming into the microphone, “Hello. I’m Johnny Cash,” that attracted attention.

I recently heard his song called, “Jesus was a Carpenter.” In it, Cash sings,

Jesus was a carpenter, and He worked with a saw and a hammer

and His hands could join a table true enough to stand forever

And He might have spun His life out in the coolness of the morning

But He put aside His tools and He walked the burning highways

And He built His House from people just like these….

-Johnny Cash

Perhaps Jesus took up Joseph’s trade of carpentry and perhaps He didn’t, but we know for sure that He chose the burning highways instead of the cool mornings in order to build us “together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Instead of focusing on building his 401K, his reputation, his earthly possessions, or his talents and abilities, Jesus focused on doing the will of the Father- building a heavenly kingdom, made of “folks like you and me,” as Johnny Cash sings.

The Apostle Paul told the Ephesians, “You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.”

The Apostle Peter wrote, “You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house…”

If we are to be imitators of Jesus, then we also are called to stop building houses for the here and now, and begin building where neither moth nor rust destroy. It is hard, though, to leave the coolness of the morning, the ease of the front porch, and the comfort of the familiar to travel the burning highways to find the next stone that might be used in the building of His spiritual house. 

As the Israelites returned from long years of exile in Babylon, the prophet Haggai challenged them with God’s words, “You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord. Because of My house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.”

As a mom, it is easy for me to get caught up in the lives and happenings of my children and my own household. The cooking, the cleaning, the decor, the routines, and the physical stuff can be all consuming. In the coolness of the morning, making oatmeal, setting out school books, and organizing sports schedules, it is easy (and convenient) to forget about building the Lord’s house. 

That would require venturing out onto those burning highways, altering my schedules, and taking the time to listen closely to the Lord’s voice, obeying whatever instruction He gives, wherever that might lead.

As Johnny Cash sings, “Won’t You come and build this house on Rock again?”