Leaving the Northern Illinois Conference program office in Elgin at the end of the day, I am braced to make the five-block walk to the train station in the first big snowstorm of the winter.

A soft blue muffler is wrapped tightly around my neck, and my collar is turned up against the wind attacking my ears. Snow is falling fast and the outside world is disappearing quickly under a thick blanket of white.

The twinkling lights from the city’s Christmas decorations provide a reassuring sight against the whited-out sky.

What amazes me is how quiet the world seems to be. Traffic noises are muted and even when I arrive at the train station, the usual chatter of colleagues and friends waiting for the train is strangely absent. All I can hear is the grunting and groaning noise of a crane several blocks away tearing at the insides of an old six-story building. It is demolishing the building from the top down, ripping out old walls and floors and scooping away the debris.

I have not heard the sounds of this demolition in progress before, but strangely, on this snowy afternoon, the rumble of the crane’s gears is the loudest sound I can hear. I am surprised that this taking down of a building is going on even in the midst of such stormy conditions.

I wish I knew what old building was being torn down. Was it a residential building or a factory? What are the plans for something new to take its place? What kind of great edifice will rise up where the old one stood? What hopes and dreams do the architects and the contractors have for the new structure they are planning?

How like Advent and Christmas is the demolition of that old building. Jesus came into our world to demolish old ways, and to build a glorious new building of salvation through grace and His plan for our redemption.

Likewise in our own lives, we often have to tear down the old to make way for our personal spiritual growth and renewal. At this time of the year, I invite you to think about remodeling or new construction you might want to begin in your hearts and your souls.

We are the general contractor of our lives for spiritual renewal and renovation. We are the architects for new habits, new thoughts, new and strengthened relationships, and new commitments to God. Advent reminds us we can joyfully anticipate that out of our brokenness, we can build something magnificent.

German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke to possibilities for something new when he said:

The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, who look forward to something greater to come. For these, it is enough to wait in humble fear until the Holy One himself comes down to us, God in the child in the manger. God comes. The Lord Jesus comes. Christmas comes. Christians rejoice!

The Media Resource Center invites you to sample one of our many resources on spiritual growth and renewal.