As Jesus is the cornerstone upon which the Church is built, so are his teachings the unifying cornerstone of Christian doctrine.

Living with impermanence

In the modern world, we live with built in obsolescence. It is a short-sighted mechanism built in to products sometimes due to greed, economics or politics. In some countries houses are built to last hundreds of years, whereas in others they last only a short time before needing new roofs or siding. No matter the local time frame, all things are temporary. That is one of the main lessons of Luke 21:1-19. Jesus pointed out that even the well-built temple would be destroyed. As a centerpiece of national life, it had been rebuilt about five hundred years before Jesus’ prediction. The first temple had lasted about 400 years before being destroyed by the Babylonians. The second temple was the one Jesus predicted would also not last. There is only one permanent thing we can build. Everything else is temporary.

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