DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- BUILDING SHRINES

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – BUILDING SHRINES

"Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with Him.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' "  (Matthew 17:1-4)

Isn't that just like us humans.   When we have a great experience, we just want to build a shrine and stay there.  God reveals Himself in a special way to us and we don't want to leave that place. We have a mountain top exhilaration and want to set up camp.

 

There is nothing wrong with making monuments in our hearts to help us remember times when God was real to us.  In the Old Testament, we find the Patriarchs setting up stones of memorial as testimonies of times when they experienced God in dynamic ways.  

But to build a temple?  That indicates a place where people would come and worship.  It is kind of like some traditions that build grottoes where there were miracles and people come to those shrines to find God. 

God never intended for us to stay in those places.  Jesus knew that their need was not just to make camp there but to go back down to the valley to minister to peoples' needs.  Israel would never have been delivered from Egypt if Moses had built a temple at the site of the fiery bush, no matter how great that experience must have been.  The wonderful experience is not meant to be the end all, but the beginning of future ministry.

May I never be content with having a special experience of God's presence, as glorious as it may be, as the ultimate goal, but as a motivation to go from that place to minister His grace to others.

Love, Dad