“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” First Corinthians 3:16 NKJV
I have tried not to make my bucket list very long, so that it seems more attainable. Featured on my list is attending the Rose Parade, being in the gallery at a Professional golf tournament, and at the very top, visiting (and maybe sleeping at) my family’s ancestral home in Scotland.
After the terrible fire at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, I have added one more stop. I had of course heard about Paris, and knew it would be a beautiful destination. But, it had never really tugged at my heartstrings until I saw the impact that the potential loss of this beautiful place of worship was having on the citizens of this mighty city.
As the news spread on social media, the world watched as the city came to a standstill. Centuries of history were being destroyed, firefighters and brave volunteers sprang into action to save the beautiful artwork.
My reaction? I had the urge to stand in whatever was left of the sanctuary and sing. One of my favorite contemporary worship songs is “You Make Beautiful Things” by Michael Gungor. Part of the lyrics say “You make beautiful things out of the dust.” and “You make beautiful things out of us.” The theme is, Hope can rise up when God is within us. Even from the ashes of a building, or a life that has been destroyed.
In the eleventh chapter of Mark, we read the account of Jesus “cleansing” the temple. We often point to this episode as a time when Jesus expressed His anger about the way the temple was being used. Instead of being a hallowed place to worship God, it had become a place for unscrupulous people to make a profit. But, this is also a symbolic way for Jesus to show us that His mission on earth was to change forever our view of the Temple, the Sanctuary. His death and resurrection destroyed forever the idea that God actually lived in a man-made structure.
Man has always tried to build beautiful places in which to worship the Creator. Jesus left us with this thought. We are now the Temple. God dwells in Us. Only God can make a temple out of the ashes of a wrecked cathedral, or a wrecked life.
“Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:5 NKJV
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