Traveling through Europe in the early 1980’s gave me a whole new realization of what the Christian church was like for many centuries. I have never seen anything so ornate or so expensive than the church buildings I saw there. Almost everything is covered in gold. What isn’t gold is either marble, or carved stone, or inlaid wood… well, you get the picture. While I believe such buildings are incredibly beautiful and were clearly built in an attempt to honor God, our Lord is less interested in buildings than He is in hearts. While the Old Testament Temple of the Lord was standing, God’s presence dwelt there. Now, Christians ARE the Temple of the Lord. God is not contained in any building, and Jesus said as much many times. Once, while walking out of the Temple, Jesus’ disciples pointed to the Temple to show Him the majesty of what man had built. In response, Jesus pointed out the temporary nature of everything we build with our hands. Today, many congregations still spend substantial amounts of money erecting buildings. While buildings and meeting places are wonderful, and quite often necessary. I believe we should be careful that we keep our hearts focused on building up people. Build what you need out of bricks and steel, but remember that God doesn’t dwell there. His Spirit lives in the hearts of believers.
“Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ‘Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.'” Matthew 24:1-2
In Christ,
PastorJimKilby @Kilbin8er Jim@JamesKilby.com
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