Lord, take me back to the Landmarks!

The newspaper headline read, “Tanks for the Memories.” It went on to tell the story of our water tower, a prominent landmark in our city. The name of our city, Maryville, was painted on its side. My husband read aloud the details to our family. The decision had been made to take it down. The article stated the water tower had not been in use for years and the cost to maintain it could not be justified. This “old way” of delivering water to the city was outdated as there were now more efficient ways to provide the service. The tower itself had become a relic to be looked upon fondly by those who remembered the days when it provided life-giving water to the city. What had once been imperative to the city’s survival was now a rusty, peeling eyesore.

We watched over the next several weeks as they disassembled the large water tower. The bowl at the top slowly came down, piece by piece. The large pieces of steel were lowered to the ground, cut up with a torch, loaded on a truck and hauled away. The skyline of our town would be forever changed. My eight year old son spoke up, “No one is going to know where they are after it is taken down.”

Sadly, my son’s remark gave me pause and caused me to consider a spiritual parallel. Over the years I’ve seen spiritual landmarks suffer the same fate as our city’s water tower. We have watched as many of our spiritual landmarks have been torn down just like the water tower. Modern technique and the church social club mentality have become more important than the things that have formed our foundation as a movement. They have slowly quit using our spiritual landmarks and have found that it is easier to just tear them down. Some ask, “Why keep them on display if we are not going to use them?” The cost of “maintaining” the landmark is thought to be too high. It seems many would rather conform than offend.

Many are no longer taking their children to visit the landmark of HOLINESS. Its story is not told in our churches, therefore a love for it has not been established in the hearts of our children. Because of this, the power of Holiness is becoming a distant memory of a past lifestyle. Their parents and grandparents visited and took snap shots of this spiritual landmark, but it is no longer considered a necessity for today’s generation. A love for Holiness was not developed. In its place is an empty lot with a ‘For Sale” sign where anything can move in.

The landmark of BIBLICAL DOCTRINE is also being replaced. The teachings that were once lovingly studied and taught by our forefathers have been buried in our church archives instead of in the hearts of the saints. Many have built cathedrals of unconditional love and grace in the place where doctrine once stood. The next generation does not realize the soul saving necessity of it.

My husband read the conclusion of the article. The water tower that once proudly welcomed travelers to our city and let them know they were in Maryville, was now being sold for a small price on Ebay. Surely those who once appreciated the life-giving flow of water from the tower could have never imagined the day it would been torn down and sold for scrap. How often has it been decided that the destruction of spiritual landmarks were necessary to draw in a bigger crowd with bigger bank accounts? Unfortunately, our religious culture seems perfectly at ease selling off the spiritual landmarks that have guided our past. However, my salvation and the salvation of my family, is not for sale…at any price.

Destroying spiritual landmarks is not a new thing. Solomon allowed worldly pleasures to replace his God-given landmark of WISDOM. Samson gave up his ANOINTING for the love of this world. Esau traded his BIRTHRIGHT for a bowl of soup. Hophni and Phinius traded their PRIESTHOOD for the riches of this world. The rich young ruler passed on SALVATION to hold on to something that he could not keep. Saul traded his KINGDOM for the jealousy of those to come. Each of these was once a major landmark in their lives, but they were laid aside for what they thought were bigger and better things.

My son’s words continued to come back to me as the weeks of demolition continued. How many of our churches will lose their way because of the spiritual landmarks that are slowly being removed from our spiritual landscape? I am determined to take my children to the landmarks of holiness, doctrine, and righteous living until it is indelibly imprinted on their hearts. I want them to be so in love with them that they will never tear them down, though the years go by. May the foundation be so firm under these landmarks that they will never crumble when it comes time for them to make lifestyle decisions of their own. I pray my children have a sign on the spiritual landmarks of their hearts that reads, “Not For Sale.”