In the hands of the Architect

For months, I visited the office of the architect who was designing the church building in which we now worship. His work fascinated me, taking ideas and turning them into plans! He talked with the building committee, finding out what the purpose of the building would be, trying to understand the desires of the congregation – for then and the future.  Along with that committee, I looked at the sketches that gave us a glimpse of his proposals. Together, we worked and refined the concepts. Ultimately he produced a stack of blueprints that guided the construction of the worship center that has housed the church for 39 years!

Does your life sometimes feel chaotic, like a jumble of responsibilities that compete for your time and attention? Do you wonder what could possibly emerge of value from all of it? Put yourself in the hands of the Architect!  The Lord of life has a plan for us and He desires to make us into a beautiful place where others can see Him working.  That is not just my opinion. It is the Truth of the Word. "As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:4-5, NIV)

Those blueprints contained many pages of detail that could not be understood apart from the larger context, but the architect had the whole project in mind. The wall details, foundation plans, for example, were part of his overall design.  The Divine Architect is working with us, sometimes in ways that can only be understood within the context of His eternal plan.  So let’s work with Him!  Peter calls us “living stones.”  Unlike a block of granite, we have will and choice. We can let Him place where He desires, or we can resist and mar the design. We can find our place in His Church, serving as He designs, or we can go it on our own, missing the joy of being a part of work that began before we were born and that will continue long after we are gone.

On this Monday morning, I want to encourage you to pause and ponder the amazing promise; that God has a plan to include you in His  ‘spiritual house.’  Are you allowing the beauty of His worship – spiritual sacrifices – to be offered in you and through you?

Our word from the Word enlarges the thought. Meditate on it. "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. . . .  Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple." (1 Corinthians 3:10-17, NIV)

Lord God, the Architect of my life,

I pray to be like a living stone in Your hand.
Take my life and shape it into a thing of beauty,

Where Your glory is revealed, where You are worshiped.
Give me wisdom and insight to build

In a way that turns my life into those precious materials

That will survive to Eternity.

Holy Spirit, teach me to trust, to live in an obedient response.

In Jesus’ Holy Name.  Amen

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My Faith Has Found a Resting Place (worship at this link)