Ash Wednesday is Demolition Day

#140

Friend,

Renovation done well is a great idea, a terrible process, and a beautiful ending.

Renovation begins with demolition. You have to get rid of the old, the corrupt, the falling apart, and the broken, so you can rebuild with something new, steadier, and reliable.

Renovation never goes as planned, because you can’t see what is behind the walls, under the floors, or in the ceiling. You may have a plan, but renovations, like life, don’t always go to plan. The flooring you chose on day one is not the flooring that is available when you finally get to the floor or the sub-contractor you hired may not be available when you are finally ready for him. But yet, once you’ve demolished the wall, you better find a way to rebuild better.

Wednesday is Ash Wednesday; or as I want you to think: Demolition Day. It is the day when we start this 40-day journey of Lent to have something destroyed so that God can rebuild and renovate it again. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a project by recognizing that something in us needs to be demolished so that something steadier and stronger can be rebuilt in its place.

Years ago at the church I was at, we were doing a renovation in the entrance of the church. We happened to start the project right before Ash Wednesday, and so when people walked into the church for our Ash Wednesday service, then they saw this sign:

And that said enough.

Love,

Aaron

P.S. I’d love for you to find an Ash Wednesday Service near you. If you are in Tulsa, we have a “Come and Go” Ash Wednesday Service from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and a 6:00 p.m. evening service at Christ Church on Harvard. We’d love to see you on Demolition Day.