Are There Ruins On These Lands?

I was recently listening to a friend of mine who was describing a trip he had taken to Newfoundland.  One of the highlights of his trip was to go to L'Anse aux Meadows, which is a Norwegian settlement established sometime around 1000AD.

This is interesting enough in itself, but what really caught my attention was how this historic site was discovered.  A Norwegian explorer/archeologist by the name of Helge Ingstad went to Newfoundland/Labrador and asked the locals "do you know of any ruins on your land?"  And it was through this simple question that a great discovery occurred.

This might not seem too significant but when I heard "are there any ruins on your land" my very first thought was to imagine if this is true of our spiritual state of being.  Are there spiritual 'ruins' that reside hidden in us, buried deep under years and years of experience, hurt, pain and sin? And though they do not seem to show themselves readily, are they providing a foundation upon which our lives are built?  And if so, is that God's desire for us?

God takes seriously the ruins that lay hidden in our souls.  Just listen to His words in Acts 15:14-16--"Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles.  The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:  'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent.  Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things.'"

God's chosen people had wandered away from Him, they had made a ruin of the great gift of relationship that God had wanted for them.  But God was not satisfied with this ruin, and He began to reach out to others, to 'restore' this relationship out of the ruins of humanity, and recreate this most amazing gift of relationship.  Why?  Because God's desire is that all people would seek Him, find forgiveness and freedom and ultimately new life.

Yes, we have hidden ruins, but there is also a God who specializes in renovation projects on a personal and global scale!

God is all about restoring things that are broken.  Listen to Jeremiah 33:7-9 as we hear God's deep desire to help those who had wandered away and rejected Him.  "I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.  I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.  Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it."

It is incredible to imagine just how seriously God wants to heal the ruins of people's hearts.  And this is not just true for a people who lived thousands of years ago but also for us right now! 

Is God asking you the same question that Helge Ingstad asked?  Is He asking you if there are any ruins on your land?  If you are hearing Him ask this question today remember that it is coming from Someone who has a deep passion and longing to restore and rebuild those ruins so that you would be filled with joy and praise and that you will also tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace He wants to pour into your life.

Hope that today is a good day for a rebuild.

BT