John 2:18-22 "Temple Address"
"Jesus answered, 'Tear down this temple and in three days, I'll put it back together.' .... Jesus was talking about his body as the Temple." (The Message, 19-20)
We love to "put God" in his "place" - at church, a temple, a holy site. But buildings can be destroyed in a moment of time - a fire, a flood, a tornado. The Israelites considered the Temple and Mt. Zion as the abode of God. But in this passage, Jesus is saying HE is the NEW temple, a temple that cannot be destroyed, lost, or taken away. NOTHING can take the presence of God from us - it is about relationships, not buildings.
This made me think about God as having an "address" for the mail (our concerns & petitions?) to be delivered. God can never be in the "dead letter" box, because we have an all-present, ever-current forwarding address. Jesus is God's forwarding address. What about our temples or churches today? We need to remember the physical building isn't what is important - it's what we do inside and outside those building walls, in relationship and service to God, that matters. Buildings are temporary, God is eternal. Where is your temple? Where is mine? Is God's mail being delivered?
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