The picture is of some castle ruins just outside the city of Plaidt in the Rheinland Phalz. The castle was at one time a place where life flourished until it was attacked by another castle called Burg Eltz. That was over 500 years ago. Ever since then, it has lied in ruins. No repairs. No attention. Only disrepair. All but forgotten except by those who occasionally walked the trails near Plaidt, until recently. There has been in recent days new work to restore and raise the castle. The Old becoming new again, generations later.
I was reminded today of this passage of old from Isaiah 58:12, "And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in." Since we live in a day where the Ancient Foundations of our faith have been attacked through ideas of Postmodernism, how should we respond? What should we do? I am convinced after almost 4 years of living in Postmodern, Post-christian Europe, that we must return to that which is ancient, and which is completely fresh and relevant. The ruins of what we see as an ineffective church need to be rebuilt with a focus on what founded our faith - a trust and belief that Christ alone is HOPE. We have lost the connection of the Generations and it must be found again. It cannot be an "us" vs. "them" or a battle between that which is "Modern" or "Emerging". We need the truth. When we focus on the Ancient, all of the generations are impacted for the good, if we believe the truth of this text.
The text here says we can get new names, or a new reputation that could transcend the worlds view of the church. Oh to be called the "Repairer of the breach" and the "Restorer of streets to dwell in". Is that not our task today? To build upon the Ancient foundation of truth and repair the brokenness of the city and the streets where people live and do life. This is our task and it will come, when we return to that which is Old.
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