God goes with you As one travels around various parts of the world, one cannot help but notice the beautiful cathedrals built to glorify God. The large stone buildings constructed out of stone to withstand the ravages of time, to be eternal reminders of who we worship and how wonderful God is. Many people are involved in their construction and many dollars as well. They are often things of such incredible beauty and detail that we can spend days or more studying them. Even if we have never travelled, we can look at our beautiful downtown churches. St. George’s, or pardon me, the New All Saints, never fails to inspire. The stained glass, the beautiful woodwork, the immense pipe organ, all designed to remind us of the power and glory of God. Central United, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church: all beautiful large buildings that soar to the heavens. We can just feel God smiling when God sees the wonderful structures we have created to honour God. 1 God goes with you But does God really smile at these mighty buildings? Is that truly what makes God happy or what God wants from us? What did Paul say to the Corinthians? According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. This sounds like Paul is talking about our need to build mighty cathedrals. But he goes on: For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? Oh, Paul is not talking about a physical building constructed of stone, brick or wood. No, Paul is talking about us, our bodies, minds and souls. We are the temple of God. God lives in each one of us and Jesus is the corner stone on which we are built. 2 God goes with you God in the Old Testament resided in the temple. God of the Old Testament required buildings to house God and offered very specific instructions on how this building was to be built. But Christ came into the world and all has changed. God who once was inaccessible to the common person but only to the priests and who resided behind the walls in the Holy of Holies has now come out from behind the curtain if you will. Through Christ, God now resides through the Holy Spirit within each one of us. The temple has gone from being a residence of bricks and mortar to one of flesh and blood. And that is a mighty responsibility and one we must not take lightly. It is so easy to get caught up in the bricks and mortar, in the creation and sustaining of a physical temple in which to place our God but we need to go beyond our comfort zone. We need to see beyond the building and look into our hearts to see God. And Jesus Himself has placed the corner stone on which the temple of God is constructed in our hearts. The corner stone is sure 3 God goes with you and steady and when we use it as our guide we will be straight and true. It is only when we lose sight of that corner stone that our lives get out of kilter. When I was on a mission trip to Paraguay, I actually got to learn how to lay bricks from a master builder. I was taught the importance of using that first brick to guide the rest of the construction. I learned to put plumb lines in to keep the wall straight and true. I learned that if the wall became out of line with the guide stone, I had to deconstruct and go back to wherever I was when the wall was last straight and true. Our lives in Christ are no different. We need to keep an eye on our corner stone at all times. It is so easy to get out of line. One little lie can cause our wall to feel out of true. A more major sin can cause the whole wall to come tumbling down around us. Many a life has fallen into disarray by one event. 4 God goes with you But there is great news in all of this! Our corner stone is always there and is always true. No matter how out of line, how off of true, our lives become, we can always go back to the corner stone and begin again. Christ has a firm hold on that beginning spot. He is right and true and will never misguide us. He is the brick which holds us in place. It is never easy to go back, to tear down and rebuild but it is necessary whenever we stray away. Just as when we knock a wall down and there is a pile of brick to clean up, it can get messy. But the rewards are worth it. When we are building on the sure foundation of Christ, it will feel so much better. We will be the people we are designed to be and others will be drawn to the light of Christ that shines from within us. And that is what God wants. God is not interested in us spending all of our time or money on buildings. God wants us to build up the kingdom. Our buildings are only tools to assist us on our journey. Our churches are to hold the temples and we are those temples. Our church 5 God goes with you buildings are outposts along the way. Our churches are places for us to gather and be encouraged, to be refreshed so that we can then go forth and do what we are called to do. They are not the destination. So let us use this building as it was meant to be. Let us be refreshed. Let us confess our sins and be forgiven so that our walls are true and straight and in line with Jesus. But let’s remember that our journey leads us outward, carrying Jesus out to places beyond. Let us take the temple out to those who also need to get to it so they too can have Christ be their corner stone, the brick by which their lives can become straight and true. So go, for God goes with you. 6