When you see a sign like this, do you rush to get around it or do you look closely to see how much progress is being made? I think the answer depends on how much you have at stake in the completed project. How interested are you in it, in other words?

We recently had a new Dunkin Donuts being built in a nearby town. My husband who loves all things coffee and donuts commented every time we went by about whether they were making significant progress or not. It was just completed, and of course, he went to check it out. How could he not when he was watching them build it? His interest was piqued and he couldn’t wait to see it all done.

We are all buildings under construction, and sometimes others are interested in what is being built and want to help us along to being completed. Others just want to gawk and keep going. But there is a third group that wants to try to tear down whatever has already been built. How do some help and others tear down? God is the builder, and some help by encouraging us in our walk with Him. We may not have a roof and be leaking, but God is repairing, replacing and restoring as fast as we will allow Him to do so. We have to be open to the changes in our hearts and attitudes that need to occur in order to complete the building. In order to be open to the changes, we need encouragement from others, especially those who have already experienced some of what we are going through.

When we encourage others, we get encouraged ourselves. We are a community of believers, not a one-man show.

The ones who discourage us are those with disparaging remarks, like, “You say you’re a Christian, but I’m just not seeing it.” Or, “If you’re such a good Christian, why do you use the language you do sometimes?” You know what I mean. We are Under Construction, meaning God is still working on us. We are not perfect and probably never will be on this side of heaven. But we keep reaching for that perfection and each time the Holy Spirit leads us away from temptation and toward goodness, we are helping to build the person we are supposed to be. Unbelievers don’t understand the whole thing about not being finished yet. They expect us to be super-Christians, without sin or errors or any humanity left in us. Only Christ would meet their expectations and they don’t believe in Him. The truth is that we all hear more discouraging remarks every day than the positive ones.

I want to encourage you today to build someone up. Think of someone who can use an encouraging word. Call that person, write him/her a note, go to visit them. Just make a point of being an encourager today. Running errands today? Who might you meet that could use an encouraging word? You have a vested interest in the progress of others because they are your brother or sister in the Lord, or even possibly someone with whom you can share your testimony so that’s they can start on the road to salvation themselves. Remember that we reap what we sow, so let’s all of us sow seeds of encouragement. After all, don’t we want to see everyone a completed and perfect work of God? Heaven awaits. Until then, we are all “Under Construction.”