Make Me a Sanctuary

Do you know any beautiful church? Well, online I came across Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe chapel (Le Puy-en-Velay, France), which is considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in the world. It is 269 feet (82m) high, 187 feet (57m) wide, and has a base circumference of 560 feet (170m. Amazing, isn't it? It was built around the 10th century and enlarged about 200 years later.

People who built it, did it for the Lord, I would say. They just did like what God asked Moses in Exodus 25: 8 saying: "Have them make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them." Congregations around the world, today, are doing their best to do this, but what is it that God is really asking of us? Is God expecting us to have fancy buildings for Him to dwell among us? How about those congregations that cannot afford a great sanctuary?

The New Testament gives another meaning of Exodus 25: 8. Beginning with Jesus who tells the Samaritan woman that worship will not only take place in Jerusalem or Samaria, but any where where people worship in spirit and truth(John 4:21-24). Then, Paul tells the Corinthians: "do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? (1 Corinthians 6: 19)"

What matters the most to God is how you make yourself to be God's sanctuary. Is God dwelling in you, or is it someone else? It is perhaps time for you to reconsider your priorities as to know what should come first in your life and who you really worship.

As a church, before even thinking of investing in a fancy building, you should first assess how much has been invested in the spiritual life of your congregation. A fancy church with people among which God does not dwell is like a museum. People come in and leave the same. Their lives are not transformed and as a result they cannot impact the world around them. They are not made disciples of Christ, which is the call for all churches.

I pray that you and I may continue to be God's sanctuary so that through us the entire world gets a chance to meet with their Maker!

Emmanuel