Disciples follow Jesus into His Mission as a Temple of Grace
At different times, Jesus portrays each person of the Godhead as being physically present in the body and life of believers. In John 14:23 he speaks of both God the Father and Himself coming to make a home with Jesus’ followers. Check out 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 13:5, and Ephesians 3:17 for other examples. The New Testament also speaks often of Christ in us carrying out His mission through us. As the body of Christ, we are known as the temple of the Lord. And you are also a temple individually. God bless us to grasp and live out this biblical theme daily.
Isaiah 1:18
Come now, let us settle the matter:
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
~ The Lord
1 Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
Ephesians 3:17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
Pondering Point
As we ponder our bodies being temples of God, let’s start with a picture taken in Missouri. The cornerstone reads Saint Patrick’s Church 1952 A.D. and was likely established with dreams to glorify God in that community.
The lottery advertisement above the marker hints that the owners settled on a much lesser dream for that property.
Maybe that church sold and built elsewhere, but we humans don’t get the option of trading our God-given bodies for upgraded versions. The temple you’re born with is the one you live with. It’s also the one many of us dedicated to God at some point – often with dreams to glorify God through the ensuing years. So here’s comes the question: Have you sold out for lesser dreams? Is your once consecrated-to-God temple now dreaming of smaller things.
Today’s quote from Isaiah is God asking His people to reconsider how they are living and to return to life in, with and under Him.
Let God’s word serve as a call to you to come to Him and deal with your life so that your sin might be eliminated, dissipated, forgiven, erased – whatever image works for you. Who knows? God might just resurrect those long lost dreams you shelved.
Prayer
Get with God. Confess your sins to God; Confess Your faith in God (that Jesus is Lord); Reconsider with God your life and dreams; then return to living fully for God.