Under Construction

Living in the Richmond/Rosenberg area of Fort Bend County, I enjoy the history, the people, and the strong sense of community. Whether I stroll down Morton Street with a cup of Joseph’s Coffee or watch the trains from the Rosenberg Railroad Museum, I meet old pals and make new friends. This is a wonderful place to live.

However, a driver cannot get in or out of the area without having to face road construction. Costing over $52 million, something big is happening around here. Consider the enigmatic FM 359 intersection at 90-A. Whenever that is finished, I hope someone will send a drone over it to explain what happened.

And then there is the astonishing rebuild of I-69 from Crabb River Road to Spur 10. Bridges have been torn down, detours are common, and two-ways have become one-ways or no ways. Patience is a needed virtue and a sense of humor is helpful.

Being under construction is not easy. It forces adjustment, forethought, and a reevaluation of life patterns. Most of us prefer to go from point A to point B in the manner to which we are accustomed. But road construction interrupts our patterns and creates change. CHANGE! Ugh, there is that annoying word.

But transformation of infrastructure is needed to meet the demands of growth and development. The larger our population grows, and the more sophisticated the automobiles become, change is required. No one wants to take their $50,000 2018 SUV on a road designed for a $825 1909 Model T. So, we are now undergoing a long-term state mobility construction project that will (hopefully) brighten, strengthen, and improve our community.

The model for transformation of the infrastructure is taught by Jesus in Luke 5:36-38 NIV, “[Jesus] told them this parable: ‘No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.’”

A patch of asphalt on a concrete hole on crumbling I-69 will not hold. A patch of new cloth will not hold on decomposing cloth. And a decaying wine skin cannot hold the violent fermentation process of new wine. Therefore, the old must be removed, and a totally modern highway infrastructure, or cloth, or wineskin must be obtained to contain the new.

The point Jesus was making is that you cannot patch the Gospel of Christ on to a decaying religious experience. True Christianity demands a removal of the old practice, and a total rebuild of our faith and spiritual acuity. When your religious experience becomes dry, boring, unfocused, and dead, do not blame the church. Instead, make a personal commitment to get serious with God. Begin to pray, study the Word, and to seek a transformed relationship with Christ that will supersede any complex rites, rituals, or ceremonies that have impeded your Christian life.

As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!” Following Christ requires change. The old religious highways must be torn down, and a new and living way must be travelled. This is accomplished through Jesus who said in John 14:6 NIV, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

So, the next time you have to detour on Reading Road at I-69, smile and say, “Lord, help me to change to keep up with You!”