When a House of Worship Is Rebuilt

This week's news carries a small, steady image: a historic church, rebuilt and rededicated. A building that stood, then faltered, then stood again. It is worth sitting with.

Scripture treats the construction of a house of worship with great care and almost no sentimentality. The labour matters, but it is never the point. "Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain" (Psalm 127:1). The stones are real. So is the limit of what stones can do.

The prophet Haggai spoke to people rebuilding after loss. God's promise to them was not merely restoration but something larger: "'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty" (Haggai 2:9).

Paul moves the question inward. "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). A rebuilt sanctuary is a gift. It is also a picture of the people inside it, who are themselves being rebuilt.

Reflect today: what in you is under restoration? Give thanks for the walls. Remember what they are for.