S155P3 – Certainty in an uncertain world: He will build it
Eph. 2:17-22
And [Christ] came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Constructing a home from scratch takes quite a bit. It takes quite a bit of time, quite a bit of money, quite a bit of planning, and quite a bit of patience. Anyone who has gone through the process can confirm that the end result is not always according to the initial plan. In fact, it can be near impossible to finish the project just as designed within budget and within original deadlines. The buyer might be challenged to compromise on certain things or cough up more cash. The builder’s hands might be tied and they might be unable to deliver as promised for reasons outside their control. In fact, the expectation that everything will go exactly according to plan without any problems or changes is rather unrealistic.
God is currently in the process of building a dwelling place of his own. This will be a living and breathing temple. This will be a dwelling place comprised of his Church, the body of Christ. For those who are in the Church today, this might seem like quite an unrealistic feat. At the moment, there is little unity in the Church body. We have thousands of doctrines competing for attention each Sunday, and we have thousands of denominations creating division after division. It can be difficult to identify who is in the real Church after all. Despite this, we should not be discouraged. God will build his temple just as He has planned and promised, and unity in the body will be accomplished.
I cannot say how many times and with how many different christians I have prayed for the Church to be united. I think these prayers need to come with the right perspective. We ask God to accomplish his will by creating this unity, and we make that request while knowing that it will be fulfilled. We pray against the divisions that we see, but they do not bring us fear or disillusionment. We do not wait to see if God will bring about this unity. We simply wait to see when it will be completed. These prayers must come from a place of confidence in the word of God and its promises. Father, thank You that no device of the enemy or of man can keep You from uniting your Church into a temple for your dwelling place.