S28P3 – Our saintly duty: to join together

Eph. 2:19‭-‬22
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are members of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the Cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together, and it continues growing into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

I have never built a house, but I am certain of one thing when it comes to construction. The individual parts of the house do not merely fall into place and make a building. Someone must take those materials and put them together so that a pile of wood and stone and metal becomes a structure. When we make a building, the materials are at the mercy of the builder. No plank of wood can decide that it will not participate in the construction and thwart the entire project. As long as the proper pieces are available, the building will go up. It is different with the temple that God is building among the saints. He needs our cooperation in order for us to be joined together as He desires. It is our duty not only to allow him to join us together, but also to actively participate in that process.

If we view ourselves as individual bricks that make up the house in which God lives, perhaps we would be more intentional about solidifying our relationships with our brothers and sisters. If I were building a house for God to live in, I would want those bricks to be lined up straight. I would want the mortar between those bricks to be nice and tight. I would not want any holes or cracks that would weaken the structure or allow the infiltration of things that could damage its integrity. I would take great pride in making sure that house was built well. So should our attitude and intention be as we partner with God in building his temple among the saints. We must keep our bricks tight and our mortar solid to keep out that which would try to infiltrate and weaken our structure. If we are the bricks, it is God’s holy spirit that keeps us joined together in unity. Let us not frustrate his work.

Being made into the temple of God is not a passive process. We cannot simply sit back and expect God to put it all together if we are not willing to help the work along. This is a partnership. God desires that we work with him through this process of sanctification. This is why the Bible instructs us to take so many active and intentional steps to grow in our faith and in our relationships with one another. Faith and works go hand-in-hand, and we cannot ignore the work that it will take on the part of the saints for us to be made into a temple worthy of the living God. We should be honored that He desires our participation in making us his home. Father, thank You that You desire our participation in making us into your spiritual dwelling place.