Bible
Study: Haggai 1, 1 to 8 and Luke 9, 7 to 9.
A few days
ago, we read of how Jesus said that his mother and his brothers were those who
hear the word of God and keep it, thereby officially making us all part of his
one family. The church can be likened to a family house, it is a place where we
can rightfully call home, a place to relax and connect with the people that
matter most to us. In this case, God is our father and Jesus our elder brother.
When we
are able to come to an understanding that the church is more than a building or
a work of art, but our very family home, then we would stop at nothing to put
it in a good shape. What son would be living in a mansion in the city while his
father is squatting in a mud house with leaking roof in the village? If you
were that father going about begging for sustenance to survive and maintain
your mud-house and you hear your son has built a mansion in the city without
sending you a kobo all the while, how would you feel?
Unfortunately,
many do not mind! They see the church as “their-place” rather than “our-place”,
they find it difficult to contribute towards the building of the church, yet
they spend lavishly in their own buildings. They do this not because they don’t
have the means but because they really do not know what they are doing.
When we
read 2nd Samuel, chapter 7, we get to see how God lavished blessing
on David for merely having the mind of building a house for God. Even though,
God wanted his son to build the house, God blessed him tremendously. David
asked Nathan, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells
in a tent?”
Just as
God was so happy with David for having this mind, our first reading today makes
us understand that the reverse is often the case when our attitude towards the
building of God’s house is unpleasant. Haggai says to us, “Is it a time for you
yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in
ruins? Now therefore thus says the LORD
of hosts: Consider how you have fared. You have sown much, and harvested
little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your
fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns
wages to put them into a bag with holes.” Haggai 1:4-6.
Honestly,
the words of Haggai sound like curses and that is exactly what they are. If we
do not build the family house, we are like people going to fetch water with
baskets, we work so hard trying to make ends meet but we do not see where the
money is going to, we eat so well, yet we are never nourished, we run so fast
yet we make no movement.
Above all,
we must not forget that just as it is important to build the family house (the
church) physically, it is equally important that we build the spiritual house
in our hearts and keep it clean daily by censoring our thoughts. Let God have a
space in your mind always. Do not be like Herod trying to see Jesus only because
he wanted to see miracle.
Let us
pray:
Lord Jesus
my big brother, I place my life entirely in your hands. Help me to be a good
son who takes proper care of Daddy’s house, the church. Teach me how to reverence
the holy place and bless me as I build for you. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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