What a House! I Mean, Except For...

ALL – Psalm 29:1-11
ALL – Proverbs 20:26-27
OT – Ezra 5:1-6:22
NT – 1 Corinthians 3:5-23

Interesting passage for the day: Don’t you realize that all of you together are the house of God, and that the Spirit of God lives among you in his house? – 1 Corinthians 3:16, The Living Bible

Thought: Some people’s houses are a mess. You walk into them and your very soul compels you to help your friend redecorate—mostly by removing all the trash and untasteful decorations you possibly can! Some houses are even worse than that. As soon as you step inside, you’re ready to step outside, tear the whole place apart and rebuild!

But no matter how much you think your friend’s house needs to be emptied, purified, rearranged, or rebuilt, you don’t touch it. You don’t even try. You might offer hints and suggestions. You might make it your personal mission to convince your friend that his house needs a facelift. But beginning the project yourself, against your friend’s will? That’s off limits. That’s transgressing. That’s overstepping your boundaries. It’s not your house! What you don’t own, you don’t remove, redecorate, or rebuild. You have no right! Keep your hands off!

You are God’s house, if you live by faith in Jesus Christ, His Son. You are God’s house. And He is very particular about His house. He doesn’t want anyone to remove you. He brought you into His house, He made a place for you, and He wants you to stay. But don’t get too comfortable yet! You have to understand that God feels the same way about every single person in His house—even the people you can’t stand! That strange guy who makes you feel creepy, that uppity woman, that snotty brat of a kid. The church micro-manager, the church crybaby. That lady who thinks she’s so smart, That guy who makes the most embarrassing jokes. The town hypochondriac, the village idiot! God wants them, even if you ache to throw them out like trash! God loves them! God treasures them! Jesus Christ died on the cross after excruciating punishments, and do you know what His reward was? His reward was to build His house. He picked the materials. He picked the decorations. He included the parts of the house that look fantastic to you, and Jesus included the ugliest knick-knacks in His house, too.

When you’re in God’s house, don’t go looking to reject anyone you find there. You don’t get to redo, redecorate or rebuild. It’s God’s house, and you’d better get used to it. In fact, you’d better learn to love it.

Question: Do you have a hard time accepting some of God’s people? How can you move your heart from where it is now to loving and cherishing all the people included in God’s house?

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