Have you ever played Jenga? It is a simple game made up of small blocks stacked upon one another. The point of the game is to keep removing blocks and stacking them on the top, so the structure keeps getting taller and taller until someone removes the wrong block and the whole structure comes tumbling down. My kids loved this game and when they were little, I would keep placing blocks back in weak areas so the structure wouldn’t fall too quickly! It is a good metaphor for the spiritual family or temple we are a part of.
God is building his church and keeps putting more and more pieces together. As God does his work, we see how important the foundation is. Jesus, the cornerstone, must be the base for everything. The spiritual temple is built on his life, death, and resurrection. He gives stability, safety, and the ability to keep building. The woman at the well in John 4 became one of the pieces that were being moved and placed back in the structure, then God worked powerfully to bring in so many more. Jesus was not worried about the physical structure (mountain nor temple, verse 20), he was building up the spiritual body, creating a family that could keep growing.
Individually we are “temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19), God resides in us! He gives us new life (Titus 3:5), gifts to serve (1 Cor. 12:11), and the ability to live for him (Galatians 5:16). God does this for a purpose, to bring us together as one church and one body (1 Cor. 12:13). This way we are built together to become a holy temple and we can become what God is building us to be.
God is building us together while working in us individually. It is not separate or mutually exclusive, God instead is weaving it all together for his purpose and our benefit. As he works in each believer’s life, he joins us together to build his kingdom and uses each one of us for a bigger purpose. He wants us to work together for his mission, his people, his church. The question for us is- will we allow Him to work in us and will we join his community? If you need help with either part of this question, will you let us know so we can help?
Pastor Jeremy Johnson
Family Pastor