It's Purdy...Ain't It?

Some of his disciples began talking about the majestic stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls. But Jesus said, “The time is coming when all these things will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

Luke 21:5-6

 

There are some INCREDIBLY beautiful churches in this world!  We see photos of them and we "oooooooo" and "aaaahhhhh" over them.  If we have the opportunity to see them in person, we are left speechless.  We admire the grandeur!  We are intrigued by the construction.  We are left breathless!

 

Yet, if you get down to brass tacks, it's just a building.  Let me ask you a question: Can you worship God more or less in a cathedral than in a jail cell? Jesus states quite clearly that there will come a time when Churches and Temples will be completely destroyed with not even one stone on top of another.  Which begs the consideration why we believe buildings are so important to worship?  

 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting together with others at church to worship.  But I do know there are those who go to the church building, go through the motions of sincere worship, yet when they leave the church building you really wonder how sincere their worship.  If it is the building that causes us to worship, then we are worshiping the building instead of the Christ who is the Bridegroom of the Church. 

 

The most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen is the one God created in the Southwest at sunrise!  Be careful who or what you choose to worship!  There will come a day...Jesus promised! 

If You Want To Be Happy For The Rest Of Your Life...

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

 

Have you ever noticed how much companies invest in advertisements focused on how you can appear more beautiful, look younger, feel younger, the energy of someone younger?  And the underlying message is that, unless you use these products you are the "before" photo.

 

Several years ago, there was a song called "If You Want To Be Happy For The Rest Of Your Life".  The premise of the song is that if you want to be happy, marry someone who is "ugly" because "beautiful" wives will be nothing other than heartache, while the "ugly" woman will take care of you and stay with you.  I wonder who gets to determine who is "beautiful" and who is "ugly" because humans have their own sense of attractiveness.

 

But look at what the Scripture says: "God has made EVERYTHING beautiful in its own time."  EVERYTHING?  Yes!  I have yet to find anywhere in Scripture where God created garbage or anyone (anything) worthless!  God has made everything for a purpose and for a reason (even you and even me).

 

Think about how destructive a lava flow can be, yet while it will destroy everything in its path, it also creates fertile volcanic soil where eventually nature will thrive!  We may not see the end result, but God has promised that everything has been made beautiful and eventually that beauty will shine through like a beacon!