What is a house? Is...
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What is a house? Is it a dwelling place? Why do we speak of a little church as a "house of the Lord," as if Almighty God needed such a place? Is a house a political institution, like England's House of Lords? Or is it a ruling dynasty, such as the "House of Hanover" or the "House of Windsor" in English royal history? Or, is it a commercial establishment, like the "House of Rothschild"?
The dictionary lists a dozen or more meanings for the word house; the one unifying factor is that they refer to some established relationship. Those in the house have common interests, or common blood.
Paul tells us about the true temple of the Lord - a building where Christ is the cornerstone and where all the members are joined together. In that sense all of us are parts of this spiritual building, the Church of Christ. Sometimes people like to feel that they have provided some definite part of a church building - a pew, a window, a brick. They feel that their labor or their gift made it possible. Standing alone, these would look rather odd. One pew, standing by itself, might as well be a park bench. One brick, alone, is meaningless. But when these are all joined together, locked securely by the cornerstone, they have meaning and purpose. Alone, we are pathetically lost. Joined together in Christ, we build a great temple!
- Stauderman
The dictionary lists a dozen or more meanings for the word house; the one unifying factor is that they refer to some established relationship. Those in the house have common interests, or common blood.
Paul tells us about the true temple of the Lord - a building where Christ is the cornerstone and where all the members are joined together. In that sense all of us are parts of this spiritual building, the Church of Christ. Sometimes people like to feel that they have provided some definite part of a church building - a pew, a window, a brick. They feel that their labor or their gift made it possible. Standing alone, these would look rather odd. One pew, standing by itself, might as well be a park bench. One brick, alone, is meaningless. But when these are all joined together, locked securely by the cornerstone, they have meaning and purpose. Alone, we are pathetically lost. Joined together in Christ, we build a great temple!
- Stauderman
