God's Temple

The Jews spent so much time rebuilding the Temple after they returned from exile in ancient Babylon. Even after they were instructed to stop the building by the Persian king Artaxerxes, the group continued the project under king Darius (as originally intended by king Cyrus). Four kings ruled Persia in the time it took the group to finish the project! Nevertheless, their commitment did not wane, and their excitement to dedicate the Temple was high.

What can we say about our commitment to the Lord's Temple? Paul tells us that 1) our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19), and 2) all of us together are the Temple of God (1 Cor3:16). Most of us are at least conscious of the need to serve God with our physical bodies. Yet, few of us take care to build up God's Temple in terms of unity in the Christian community. "Christian" is becoming more a political agenda in some hearts than it is an opportunity to live together as one. If we, together, are all God's Temple, made up of the various parts, how can the Temple be complete without each part? How can we remain content with the handful of church friends we have and go on living our lives as normal? How can we remain content with a Church (universal believers, not a particular sect) that experiences hurt, unhealed wounds, even persecution in some areas of the world? How can we remain content with a theology that centers around our experience in church and what God does for us, when there are literally millions of us around the world who, together, can point the lot of us to the Father? How can we remain content with building up others with positive words without challenging one another with God's truth (rather than opinions)? How can we be content with a Temple that has a few bricks (people) missing along the way instead of sharing the Good News with people who should be part of God's glorious Temple?