In Defiance of Them All

He had been working on his glorious castle for at least 10 minutes.  Not very long to me but 10 minutes is like 12 years in Isaiah time.  He had put every bit of his creativity and effort into building what was going to be the most amazing Lego castle known to man. 

His masterpiece was finally taking shape and the little master builder was beaming with joy.  Then the unthinkable happened.  The permanency and impregnability of his creation was questioned in the form of a curious little sister.  Isaiah the architect and his creation did not stand a chance as Godzilla—played masterfully by Hannah—took vengeance upon her brothers joy. 

Anyone with children knows what happened next: Godzilla was firmly rebuked by the discouraged builder as the now tear soaked Lego’s were gathered together to begin their resurrection.  As mommy and daddy set Godzilla on another mission of destruction the little architect began to recreate his castle.  He would not be stopped this castle would be built and built as it was intended to be. 

After about 5-10 more minutes of reconstruction the castle was beginning to take shape again.  Little Gehry was well on his way to fame and notoriety as the world’s greatest castle builder.  Then, without one moment of warning, the entire thing was destroyed by two rambunctious kittens reenacting their version of the Hatfield and McCoy’s. 

Getting up from this bitter betrayal would require the help of daddy.  Together we picked up the pieces and began rebuilding the castle.  Eventually, with Godzilla distracted and the Hatfield/McCoy feud moving to higher ground, the master architect completed his masterpiece*. 

A Little Help From Newton

A couple hundred years ago John Newton compared the work of Christ in our lives to a master-builder that does not stop his creation until “it appears to others as he intended it should be”.  And just as little Isaiah did, Christ finishes His work “in defiance of them all”. 

I couldn’t help but think of Isaiah’s diligence in completing his castle when I read these words from Newton:

But nothing can disappoint the heavenly Builder; nor will He ever be reproached with forsaking the work of his own hands, or beginning that which He could not or would not accomplish.  Let us therefore be thankful for beginnings, and patiently wait the event.  His enemies strive to retard the work, as they did when the Jews, by his order, set about rebuilding the temple.  Yet it was finished in defiance of them all.  (Letters of Newton, 219)

There are many **Godzilla’s within and without that seem to greatly frustrate the work of the master-builder but He is powerful enough to even make these “set-backs” resound to His glory and our good.  We would not enjoy Him as fully or as sweetly had these “rambunctious kitties” not wreaked havoc on our hearts and lives.  But as they crumble and the building stands the wisdom and splendor of the master-Builder shines more brightly. 

Brothers and sisters Christ will complete His work in defiance of them all!

----

*Just to show you that you should be careful not to stretch analogies too far you ought to know that shortly after reaching the apex of his Lego career little Frank Lloyd Wright then proceeded to take his bicycle and unleash havoc upon his unsuspecting castle.  I am pretty sure the analogy breaks down at this point. 

**I should probably also mention that I do not typically refer to my beautiful little girl as Godzilla or the work of demons.  But from little Isaiah’s perspective when his creation came toppling down I think Godzilla would have been a nice response.  See how easily you can break down analogies?