“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” “then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” (Haggai 1:2-4) NASB95
The Israelites had been in exile throughout Babylon, but those who wanted to were allowed to come back to Jerusalem where they found the city, including the temple in shambles. When they first got back, they started working on the temple, but then they left it alone while they first took care of themselves.
There are some people who become Christians and do all that Christians should do, but then they let other things get in the way. They start building their own houses of careers and leisure pursuits. These things are not bad, but they leave the building of the temple of their spiritual lives unfinished.
If you belong to Jesus Christ, He lives in you and you are a temple. If you truly belong to Jesus Christ, He is your firm foundation on which to build. He even tells us how to build our temple: Matthew 7:24-25 (NRSV) “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.”
So Jesus Christ is the Rock and we build our temple through obedience to Him. What are the building blocks we are to use? Peter tells us: 2 Peter 1:5-8 (NASB95): “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
At times in our lives, some of the building blocks might not be as strong as they once were, and some may not have been used too much. Do any of us need to rebuild part or all of our temples?
By Dean W. Masters
Unedited redistribution approved.