One of the very exciting experiences for me over the years was to watch Bridge of Don church rise from a rough grass mound to a beautiful, warm, inviting building. There was lots of mess and digging to lay the foundations, then the basic formations themselves were neatly mapped out, and only then was the superstructure put in place piece by piece by piece. During this period the workmen must have been fed up of me coming every day to see what progress had been made, out of sheer excitement. It took quite a while but eventually we had the finished article, yet still with room for development.
This process corresponds to what God is doing with His church which is often referred to in the New Testiment as a building. The foundation, or cornerstone, is Christ and the apostles. The church is the superstructure, which is like its physical counterpart, attractive, warm and welcoming and with open hearts and doors to all. Paul says in 1 Cor 3:9 “You are God’s building” and in verse 16, “You are the temple of God and the Spirit of God lives in you.”
The fledgling fellowship at Portlethen is in the process of becoming what God wants it to be. The foundations are being laid and the superstructure and shape are slowly becoming something like God has in mind. The foundation is Jesus Christ, and the building is developed with faith, love and prayer. The worship services are encouraging and inspiring, there is openness of heart and hand to each other, and active prayer is uniting it all together. The Home group is gelling well, with broad participation, and warm concern for one another. It is still a building site but the building is, and will be, emerging.
God has a plan for His church here and we are privileged to be part of it. We see only the beginnings yet and not the whole structure but we have a vision of God’s “grand design” emerging in the future, which will draw and attract many to its builder, Jesus Christ Himself. We must have the same eagerness to see the finished article that I had, but we need also the patience to wait for God that I did not have!!!