Dwelling of God

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22

This passage is sitting and expanding in my mind and heart. Paul, writing to the church in Ephesus, the church living in the middle of an immoral city. The church that is young and far removed from the origins of the Savior they worship. The church that has been given grace and peace and every spiritual blessing. The church that is full of members that were aliens and strangers to the ancestral family of the Savior. The church that has an inheritance of belonging to the family of the Savior, adopted by God Himself. The church that is being built into a dwelling of God.

That right there gets me in the pit of my stomach. And the aching neck and shoulder as I type this. Inside the vessels we have been given to spend our time on earth, resides more than we know or understand. But yet I treat this vessel hard. I am not always honoring the inheritance given to me, through the blood and tears of Christ. The inheritance is invaluable. But yet I disregard what is being built in me. Some may say I even abuse this dwelling place.

Isn’t that what was happening in Ephesus? Was that the example of what not to do for those living in that city? And the immorality wasn’t the only corruption happening. It isn’t the only corruption happening in our modern times.

I sit at a desk for a living. My body is capable of moving. I make a choice to be sedentary.

My food choices are less than healthy. I make the choice to eat the food I eat.

The little black device that literally goes with me everywhere. I choose to pick it up and mindlessly scroll through countless reels and posts.

The anger that rises up in me over inconsequential circumstances depletes my joy. I allow it. My choice.

Jealousy forces me into idolatry. Or is it idolatry that forces me into jealousy? Both and neither. I choose to allow my mind to be consumed so that my heart longs for something other than God.

I sit in a pew Sunday morning. I get up and leave and have done nothing but occupy space and gained knowledge without action. How is that being an active participant in what is being built into a dwelling of God?

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12

Of all the above, it is available to me to choose my response to gifts and treatment of time and resources.

I get to choose action over allowing my body to become stiff and ache from lack of movement.

I get to choose food that will give me energy to be able to move.

I get to choose to lay the black device down. Frees up time for the good stuff.

I get to choose to be angry without allowing it to steal my joy. I will still be angry because, well, you know. But my response can be better, not bitter. I can use it to do good.

I get to enjoy what is not mine without wanting it for myself. I can be thankful for what I have and for what others have. The abundance given to me already far surpasses anything I could need.

I get to sit in that pew. I also get to be a willing participant in being the church, not just sitting in it. There is something for everyone to do and everyone gets to do something. We just have to choose.

The offer is on the table. The dwelling is being built. Will you join?