1
Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV)
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that
God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s
temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together
are that temple.
We went to the Western Wall of Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem today. Our guide, Abraham, prepared us for our approach to the wall. He said this was the most sacred place in all the world to the Jewish people. I am one of the Jewish people so this is to be my Holy Place. However, I have recognized and accepted that Messiah (Christ) has come. I approached the wall with mixed feelings. Is this really my Temple?
Jesus said He would destroy the Temple and build it up again in three days. The Pharisees took great offense to that comment without realizing which Temple Jesus spoke about. He was referring to His own body as the Temple. The verse I shared tells us that God’s Temple is now with us and inside us since His Holy Spirit now resides within any believer. The Temple of the Holy Spirit is within me! I do not have to mourn about the loss of the place of sacrifice as in the Wailing Wall. My Perfect Sacrifice is my Lord in whom I trust.
My friend Christine asked if I would take her Cross necklace to the Western Wall and pray over it there. She requested I touch it to the wall. I did and I prayed over Christine’s necklace for her health and happiness. How is it that my Christian friend has more interest in the blessings from the wall than I?
A man at the entrance asked if we were Jewish and we asked him why. He offered to lend us phylacteries (Tefillin) so we could pray. I said no which is untrue. I follow a risen Lord who is a Jewish Rabbi. I am His disciple and very much Jewish. I am a completed Jew! I said no because I did not want to have to explain to him that my Messiah has come and I have put my faith in Him rather than customs, traditions and a place. I realize now that I missed an opportunity to tell that man about my Risen Lord.
I’m not sure why the mixed feelings. I still have growing to do in my Spiritual journey. One thing is for sure. I am a child of the Most High God no matter where I am. Whether at the Western Wall or anywhere else in the world, my Temple, the place where my God resides, is in my heart. Wherever I go, I take Him with me. In fact, He goes before me, beside me, beneath me, behind me, above me and within me. Thank Lord Jesus that You never leave us. You never slumber nor sleep but listen for the call of Your beloved. In Jesus name.