Temple Fascination

Have you ever driven around town and taken in the beauty of the churches of our day? Some of the most massive and impressive buildings across the skyline are temples dedicated to our Lord, the Messiah. They are built in the name of the Kingdom as a place to worship our Lord. 

They pale in comparison to the Temple in Jerusalem during the times of our Lord. It was over 500 years old, newly restored, was magnificent and could be considered one of the wonders of the world. 

Herod had taken eighty-four years to remodel it. Not because he 'loved our God' or believed in the Kingdom of God but to appease the Jews and keep the under his control (I challenge you to think on that). 

Let's read the story of Jesus and His disciples' experience on a day after visiting the temple in Mark 13

1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.” 2 Jesus replied, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

Reading this story recently my heart began to feel a little of Jesus' heart. Can you imagine being the Messiah in this story? They are walking 'with' God and are fascinated by a building. 

The temple had them in awe and yet the One the building was built for was walking with them. The Messiah, the King, the Lord of Lords was speaking to them. Yet a building had them in a breathless state. 

The enormity of the rocks in the walls had captivated their attention when the Chief Cornerstone was standing beside them. They had heard Jesus speak of Himself being the 'Chief Cornerstone' in Mark 12:10, and yet they still did not grasp the truth. 

The strength and longevity of the massive stones crumble under the comparison of the Alpha and Omega. Jesus is reading their thoughts (oh He still reads our thoughts) and pain hits His heart. They think these massive stones will stand forever and I know for a fact in less than ten years this will all come down. 

A deep burden in my spirit, a deep pain in my walk with the King, the Messiah, we have evolved into the same place of those attending the temple during his walk for the most part in this country. We are overtaken with our buildings, some not so magnificent because they are so 'outdated'. So we spend money to keep up with our culture, to appease our people, to draw the 'unchurched'. When in fact, our buildings only draw those that are 'shopping' for ANOTHER church because the one they were attending did not 'meet their needs'. 

Buildings are necessary to make a place for believers to join to worship the King and to disciple His people. The building just must not be the focus, the main thing. The King must still receive the attention. 

The Kingdom of God is within us, desires us to be in awe of His love and His work in our life. The Messiah, during this season of the year more than any other time, should grab our attention. 

Finally, we must not spend so much money on the 'building' that we have no resources to fulfill the mandate of serving those outside the fold. Oh how many countless times have I sat with a pastor or leader who would love to feed the homeless, help those coming out of prison, give assistance to struggling addicts, provide a home for the rejected because she made a mistake and has a gift from the Lord in her womb, help a little child with clothes that is living in poverty, due to the deep debt they carry on the 'building' built for the Lord. Jesus stated when you do it to those ignored or overlooked, the least of these, you do it to Me. 

How much is the church spending on the building 'for' the Lord verses spending resources on the Lord in the ditches?