Temporary Inconvenience, Permanent Improvement

Change is something we desire from a very young age—we want to be taller, stronger, we want a bicycle, then a car, then a mate, and we continue marching through life trying to get to the next stage. And then at some point we want to rest—stop the change. Yet, change is something we should embrace, because God does.

Our life is called a vapor in James 4:14. We have a “shelf life,” so we should use it well.

In our time on earth, many have been privileged to be called by God. That calling specifically involves change. God calls us from where we were, and expects us, and helps us, get to where He wants us to be—“to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). That’s a lot of change!

God is growing us to be something far greater than we are now, but it is a process. We can’t exactly see where God wants us to be, although we can read the Scriptures, and put a lot of ideas together. We’re His workmanship, and we have to cooperate to get to the finished product (1 Corinthians 15:50-57).

2 Corinthians 5:17 says we become a “new creation,” not a remake of something old and worn out.

Ephesians 4:17-24 further explains we need to put off the old corrupt ways, and put on the new man; lots of change. That new man gets created in true righteousness and holiness. What does that creation look like?

Only Temporary

Before I answer that, let me take you back to my childhood (early ’60s). In southwest Pennsylvania the interstate highway system was being constructed. A winding two-lane road was being replaced by a four-lane high-speed interstate highway. I well remember the construction, because we had to drive through it on our way to church services every week in Pittsburgh. Every week there were changes; the heavy equipment carved out the hills, built bridges, created exit ramps and interchanges that tied into the sideroads. Every Sabbath was an adventure. I enjoyed the construction, but there was a sign that I vividly remember along the construction route. It read, “Temporary Inconvenience Permanent Improvement.” I remember thinking how simple that sign stated what we all hoped for.

So, when the State of Idaho announced they were going to widen the two-lane road in front of our house, that sign came to mind. As thousands of cars travel past our house every day, it is very interesting to watch the highway contractor orchestrate this feat while keeping the traffic flowing. They are about four years into the process, and will not be finished for a couple more.

We reflect back on the initial meetings when the state told us this would take several years—maybe they said four to five years, but we weren’t concerned. 

Many reading this can reflect back on their conversion and counseling—you might have been told, “count the cost” (Luke 14:28). And “he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). In your heart, you might have said, “no problem, I can do this, it won’t be long now…” Well, you’re still at it—overcoming and enduring, and our road isn’t finished—it’s taking a little longer than expected.

It takes a lot more than I dreamed of to convert a highway to four-lanes. Funding, design, surveyors, acquisitions, move all the utilities, dig ditches to bury the new stuff, re-dig ditches to remove the old stuff, pile driving all night, pavement eaters, bulldozers, excavators—noise, and more noise! Trucks hauling it away; trucks bringing more materials. They’re on a mission. Every last scoopful of the old road was taken away, and replaced with materials specifically selected and installed right where the engineers want it. And the road graders, bulldozers, and compactors grade and compact it into place—repeatedly, until it is exactly where the engineers want it, and packed firmly into place—so it won’t change in the future.

It is not uncommon for a Christian to feel overrun with trials and situations that make them feel like this roadbed—will it ever stop? Will I ever get to the place where the Great Designer is satisfied with me? I take you back to the sign; “Temporary Inconvenience Permanent Improvement.” It is a process. Without the process, we won’t have a nice new road, and you won’t have eternal life with your Creator.

All the clattering, banging, grinding, clackity-clack, and unpleasant screeching of the worn-out bulldozer are just things we have to put up with—we don’t get to choose the noises, and society has plenty of noise. At times we are given breaks, such as the peace we find in attending the Sabbath and Holy Days. We can go find peace away from the noise, get refreshed, and then go back home. While we were at the Feast in Australia, the workers blacktopped the stretch of road in front of our house, but they still have the other half of the road to do in the spring—so we get a few months of peace over the winter.

1 John 3:1-3 discusses God’s love for us; He calls us children. It says we shall be like Him. Notice verse 3, “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” The process is not easy, but the reward will be worth any amount of inconvenience we have to put up with. This is temporary; the road will be finished someday.

Romans 8:16-17 goes on to emphasize that “we are children of God…heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

Imagine looking back and thinking how easy it would have been to give up, but you didn’t—you believed God, and trusted His ability to bring to pass what He promised. We must look forward and know this life is a temporary inconvenience and a permanent improvement is coming. Quitting will never be the right answer.

A Lasting Change

God is working His plan for far more than us “called-out ones” now. He is strategically working with all humanity, and has plenty of infrastructure to bring it to pass. You and I are art of that infrastructure. We are being shaped, molded and prepared to be set in place—Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone, and the building is constructed with the apostles, prophets, and all who have endured to the end.

It is important to remember God has big plans, but His plans don’t include the ways of man. Man rejected God’s ways, and developed his own forms of government, education and lifestyle. When God’s government is set up on this earth, He will reintroduce what has always been truth—He doesn’t need man’s input on truth and the best way to live.

The inconvenience of road construction in our front yard hasn’t been pleasant, but we look forward to a wonderful new road that will serve the travel needs of thousands, for years to come. Likewise, as Romans 8:18 encourages us, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Or, in my words, this life is a necessary temporary inconvenience, and God has a permanent improvement in the works.