But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! – 1 Kings 8:27
So Solomon begins his dedication of the massive temple he built in Jerusalem, the first of its kind for a God that had first been encountered by humanity somewhere around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (we think), and who had led men, women and children to wander across borders of far-flung nations, in and out of slavery, self-rule and exile for millennia.
This is the God who compelled Abram to pull up stakes in Ur and travel all the way to Canaan. Who led Joseph and his brothers down into Egypt…Moses and his followers back out. This was a God of nomadic herdsman, itinerant workers, strangers in strange lands and vagabonds. Now Solomon would push a pin into the infinite map of the universe and say “this is where we will meet to encounter God.”
Solomon, in his wisdom, immediately recognizes the irony of the moment: How could the God who created the heavens and the earth, whom our ancestors met everywhere they turned, be contained in this one spot? Nonsense! Solomon’s Temple was not built to narrow the scope of God, but to focus the vision of God’s people.
A church is not built to corral God, but to corral us: God’s wandering, ADHD followers. If we simply stated that we would meet Sunday morning where we most encounter God, some of us would be up in the hills or down by the lake, others in an inner-city soup kitchen, a maternity ward or a Habitat for Humanity construction site. A couple of us would meet at the church, and a few of us wouldn’t even leave our homes.
We are followers of a God who supplies to us no name beyond Yahweh -- I Am. Christ’s given name, Jehoshua, literally means Through God I am Free. Christ sends to us the Spirit whose name means wind (ruah).
But sometimes for us finite, mortal beings, AWARENESS of God requires A WHERENESS of God; a specific place we set apart as communally holy, where we can come together, share our experiences and turn to our God as one to offer praise and worship. Building and maintaining a church are profound acts of worship: a reaching out for God, a humbling of our human intentions. Attending a church is an expression of love to God, an act of faith and sacrifice. From the moment you turn to begin your trip to a house of worship, you have begun a holy pilgrimage, not because you are moving from where God isn’t to where God is, but because you have set your mind and the coming hour on Christ, and are journeying with others to turn together to our God who is everywhere. It is the beginning of our offering before we put anything in the collection plate!
May your church always provide A WHERENESS of God. And, wherever you go outside the church, may you recognize your brother, Christ, in the freedom of will you enjoy, and take in the Holy Spirit in the very air you breath.
Amen! I absolutely agree that God is everywhere. I see Him standing in the midst of lumber and sawdust while His servants build homes for families. I see Him in the faces of Judianne and Brenda as they slap another coat of paint on those bare walls. I saw Him with His hand on my Jeffery’s head when he was being baptized, telling me that He would keep him safe for me until I see him again. I witnessed His perfect peace in a hospital room when my mom took her final breath. I felt His presence just this morning when a friend called and asked me to pray with her over the phone. But I stand on my conviction that Christians need a church to come together as one body of Christ to worship, partake in Holy Communion, pray together for each other, and share in the lives of other believers. I think it that emails, internet, television, radio; can tremendously assist in our walk with Christ; however it cannot replace the church completely. In the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and authorized them to be His witnesses, and to establish churches among the nations. I have to believe He wants us together in for a purpose - to strengthen our faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Those 69% of Christians are missing out so much by not involving yourself in those relationships that He encourages us to develop.
ReplyDeleteI love the name Jehoshua –Through God I am free – Praise God! Gal 5:1 says: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. What a comforting thought, that Christ has made us free from all the baggage and junk we fill our little lives with. However, the thorny part of being free is the freedom of choice. We are free to serve (which I see as a true act of worship) wherever Christ sends us, but do we always choose to go? We are free to tell a terminally ill person about the gift of salvation, but do we always choose to speak up? I know I am guilty of turning a blind eye to what He asks me to do quite often. Staying on His narrow path is a choice. Your whole life is a choice. But by God’s grace, I have been given the freedom to make that choice.
Isn’t it grand that we can come to the Savior from all different directions and with different idea’s and beliefs? Though we may come to Him from the north, south, east or west, we all have that God in our view at all times.
God is everywhere. His Spirit is magnified and shared by those who belong to Him. We can, and should, see Him in everything around us. We can, and should, share Him with all of those around us.
ReplyDeleteI often, though, stand tongue-tied when I should be proclaiming His name and magnifying His grace. I'm not quick to say, "Do you know how the Lord blessed me today?" Oh, if only I shared that as quickly as I do what I read, or heard, through the news each day.
Taking the time to journey to a house of worship is indeed part of our worship. If we can't, or won't, sacrifice an hour-or-so of our time for Him how important is He in our lives? I can share communion here at home with my family, but when I am in church and share it with so many others, the significance and the power is magnified. A church is not where God lives, but it is where His body of believers can get together and share joys, sorrows, tragedies, and triumphs. That sharing is an important part of our worship, as well. "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there will I be in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20)
Yes, Becky, I agree the freedom of choice I have in Jesus is one that carries some costs. But when the price He paid for my freedom was His very life, who am I to argue with what He asks from me?!
Does that mean I always do as He asks, without debating, I wish I could say yes... The offering I put in that plate is the easiest part of the whole thing; living for Him day-in and day-out is much more of a sacrifice.
I pray that each place where worship is offered, the whole focus is put on the One Who loved us from before time began.