I can still remember it being said, (not to me but to the other boys! 🙂 ) “Stop running. This is God’s house.” I still hear it upon occasion, though not nearly as much. (Note: that may have as much to do with the lack of parenting as misbehavior. Just sayin’). Anyway… One of the men involved in overseas missions will often say, “This church helped build that church.” Many will say it’s a matter of semantics but the church is not the church building. The temple of God is not the physical plant of the building. The temple of God is me and you. God, through His Spirit, lives within me. I am the church. I am His temple. So are you.

This becomes very important when grace enters the conversation. Grace cannot be extended to a building. But it can be extended to an individual. Grace cannot change a building; it can and does change a person. Grace cannot alter a building’s life; it can and does alter a person’s. Grace has no impact on the direction of a building; it does impact an individual’s direction of life. Grace cannot reveal the inner needs of a building; it will show the inner working/needs/shortcomings of an individual.

I know. I am a recipient of grace. I am God’s house, his temple. He lives in me. With his grace and power I can change. My life has meaning. With his grace I’m not just forgiven; I’m renewed and used for His glory.

“Father, I am your house, your temple. That means you own me. So make yourself at home. Have your way. Put your feet up. Or better yet: do some housecleaning and rearranging. Let your grace flow to me and through me.”