In the last few months inanimate temples made with the hands of man have stood empty, but the living temples of our souls are full.
Acts 17:24-27 says, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us.”
My Dad once said, “If you were the only remaining believer, would your faith be enough to stand alone?” Over the last ten years, I’ve missed roughly three and a half years worth of church, while recovering from twenty-four surgeries. In that time I have never been isolated from God. I learned how to seek God, to worship, pray, and praise on my own accord. God has never failed to meet me when I’ve called out to Him.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
A building, our garb, habits and tradition, have very little to do with the health of the temple of our heart. There are times I’ve been isolated from other church members, but I’ve never been isolated from God. That is a choice. It’s possible to develop a very false sense of security in our spiritual life by casually approaching the habit of visiting a church, observing tradition, and fulfilling our “duties.” After all, this is a mistake Israel made over and over.
We can fulfill all of the religious traditions of men while being absent in heart, lacking in desire, and distracted in our mind; all the while the temple of our heart could be deteriorating into a neglected and dilapidated dwelling place for God. Our own habits and traditions can become a foothold for pride and a false reassurance of our own dedication to the God we originally intended to honor. When we are forced to abstain from tradition and ritual, we are left with only one thing. We are forced to look within the temple of our hearts and our true desire to meet God there, and to be the safe place for His Holy Spirit to dwell.
If attending a church with other believers a couple times a week is the only thing holding our faith together, then we are not attending to the daily needs of the temple of our heart and our faith is not solely reliant on God.
I am thankful for the story of Noah, who served as a last true follower; and of Peter and Paul,
who remind us that living in spiritual isolation is not a spiritual death sentence. If our soul cannot survive in isolation, then we are not tending to the needs of the temple of our heart where God lives. We expect God to live within our heart, but if it is not habitable…we can’t expect Him to continually dwell with us. The entire world has been given a moment in time to refocus. It is up to us individually to utilize this time to tend to our own spiritual needs and focus. I pose to each of us the question, “If I am the last one left on earth who believes in God, will I be able to keep the faith?” I pray I am able.
A year ago as I was listening to a Christian song in the car, I had a vision of Jesus. He wasn’t meek and lowly like we think of Him in Scripture. He was a warrior and King. The wind was blowing and swirling His robe and hair. His eyes shone with white flames in them,
and He was saddling and mounting a brilliant white horse. He mounted the horse and took off galloping across the sky. He was coming to get us. I don’t know when that will be, but I know He will. Whether we see Him come for us all at once or each individually, He will come. Emmanuel, our God is with us always.
