I’m pleased to report that on July 4 I finished a giant Lego project – a model of the Cathedral of Notre Dame! I started on Tuesday, June 18, so it took just over two weeks and just under the 20 hours I had predicted.

All the observations I made in my Lessons from Legos blog of June 23 apply. Here are some additional lessons learning:

• The first thing they give you is a tool to correct mistakes. I won’t need that, will I? I’m going to be very careful. Yep, I needed it. 1 John 1.8 – 10.

• It was hard to get away from the image Paul laid out in Ephesians 2:

In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2.21 – 22, NIV)

• “Rises to become a holy temple.” The Cathedral didn’t get built all at once. The real one started with the east side so that they could hold services there while the rest of it was being built. That first stage was constructed from 1163 to 1182. I reached that stage after bag 9 of 34 bags.

• We are being built together to become a dwelling… And we’re not finished yet!
• 1 Corinthians 12 enters in as well. “For the body does not consist of one member but of many…” Some parts are larger and will be seen in the finished product. Some are small. EVERY part has a specific function, and if it’s not there, the building might not even get built.
• Therefore, I have new appreciation for the parable of the lost sheep. You have 99 sheep left! Why go after the one? I’ll never forget the first time I dropped a piece. It’s amazing how far and in which unpredictable direction the pieces bounce! I pulled out my phone’s flashlight and searched until I found it. But you have 4,382 other pieces! Do you have to find that one? Yes. Absolutely.
• I am impressed with Lego’s quality control. EVERY part is perfect. Tolerances are perfect. Every part fits exactly the way it is supposed to. The part doesn’t have a say in its design nor where it is placed. Legos decided that.
• Every believer is perfectly designed:

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2.10, NIV)

• A perfectly built Legos piece in the wrong place won’t advance the mission of building the cathedral. I wonder how much better the Kingdom would advance if we all listened to the direction of the Lord of the Church and served in the roles we were designed for. For example, many dedicated believers think the ultimate service is in full-time, paid Christian employment. I address this fallacy in my book The Disciple’s Work. Also, many gifted and called people are counseled to go into pastoral ministry when they might be better suited for a pioneering or specialized ministry outside the local church. Sam Metcalf speaks to this issue eloquently in his book, Beyond the Local Church: How Apostolic Movements Can Change the World.
• I had to trust the process. I didn’t have to know what was going to happen two steps away, and I intentionally did not look ahead. “A long obedience in the same direction.” And I intentionally didn’t rush. “Things take as long as they take.”

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30.21, ESV)

A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul. (Proverbs 13.19, NKJV)

But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! (2 Chronicles 6.18, NKJV)

Photo by Mark Ewell: the cathedral with the instruction book. Over my left shoulder you can see the Willie Mays jersey I mentioned on June 19.