Most people hear the word ‘church’ and think of a building.
In the New Testament the word means a ‘called out’ people – people called
together to live distinctively as disciples of Jesus filled with the presence
of the Holy Spirit. Yet we can sometimes become preoccupied with buildings,
meetings, doing things the way we like them done. Ephesians 5 tells us more about
what life marked by the presence of God will look like. I love the dynamic
atmosphere of worship suggested by this letter as people ‘speak to one another
with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs’. ‘Sing and make music in your heart to
the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father…’ (Eph 5:19-20).
On the face of it, several chapters of 1 Kings including 1
Kings 8 are about a building - the Temple, how it was built, its materials,
dimensions, furnishings etc. Then suddenly the moment comes where the cloud of
God’s presence fills the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11). In fact there is so much
cloud that the priests cannot continue performing their rites. The building was
not important in itself: its importance was as a place where people could
encounter the presence of God.
Do we ever forget that our church activities should be God’s
way of extending his presence in Christ to the world around us? Our priority
must be to seek His presence so that we are transformed and that people around
us encounter him too.
(member of the
congregation)