Over the past couple of days a handful of blog posts and Facebook links have stirred up in me a need to address something that's been addressed over and over and over again but still seems unresolved for many Christians. This blog post in particular really got me going. The author conflates gathering to Christ with Sunday morning church attendance. She falls into the age old trap of calling a building the 'House of God' and then goes on to intimate that those who fail to gather at such a house on a regular basis will feel the wrath of God. Yes, there are still those in leadership and among the laity who believe God will assign you to hell if you fail to show up to a building on Sunday morning.
Stop it! God does not live in a building. Never has...never will. Study your Scriptures people. God refused to allow David to build him a temple. He refused to allow anyone to build him a temple exactly because He knows if we build God a house we will be inclined to leave Him there! Yes, the editors living in Babylon trying to sort out where they went wrong inserted a note in the Biblical text about Solomon building a temple, but that was just to legitimize an illegitimate project (one of many Solomon undertook with slave labor God had also forbidden). If you really want to get down to brass tacks, Solomon worked in concert with Satan, himself, to build the temple in Jerusalem. The Great Deceiver loves it when people build houses for God. And the more elaborate, costly and expensive to maintain all the better. Why should God's resources go to mission when they can be spent on giant buildings that are mostly empty six days a week (and nowadays, mostly empty on Sunday, too)? But that's a topic for another day.
Here's the point for today...
God moves with His people. Since the time of Pentecost God moves in His people. YOU are the dwelling place of God. When two or more believers gather there is God in the midst of them. When you attend a small group, a recovery meeting, a potluck, a workplace Bible study, a morning prayer breakfast, walk into a pub with a group of Christian guys, sit in a stadium, go to a water park, the 'House of God' has just shown up. Resting on the foundation of Jesus Christ and built on Him the Church is the quintessential mobile home!
Stop treating places like they are sacred and holy and start realizing that YOU are sacred and holy...that is 'set apart' for the work of God and His kingdom. Stop compartmentalizing your life into sacred and secular as no such distinction exists. Stop showing up at a building on Sunday morning and telling people (and yourself) that you 'went to church'.
I have no hope that this post will resolve anything considering people have been striving to put God in a box and keep Him at arms-length since that first temple was built well over 3000 years ago. But I had to take yet one more crack at getting you to wake up. And if you already know this and agree with me, would you please, please, please pass this along to your Christian friends...and maybe your pastor? Thanks!
1 comment:
Great message, thanks!
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