Cultural Architecture Beam by Beam

Tonight God opened my eyes and showed me a truth about growing in concrete. The growth must happen in unseen and often seemingly insignificant ways. I met with a friend from the church and after some time of talking at a coffee house he asked me "why did you want to meet with me?" It was then I realized my strong value for relationship with people. We were meeting as friends and brothers in Christ, yet it was mysterious to him why I would want to meet with him. According to Scripture we were doing what was expected and normal, but in a relationally anemic church culture it was bewildering that 'it was good and pleasant for brothers to dwell together'. This value is expressed in Jesus and the twelve men that He chose to spend time sharing His heart with. It was a religious environment that choked true relationship between God and man in the days of Jesus, yet Jesus in seemingly insignificant ways cultivated seeds of truth that allowed the salvation of humanity to 'grow in concrete' and so we must serve in the example of Christ, value people and the priorities of God's heart above the man made pictures of success such as buildings, numbers and all sorts of religious pats on the back.