Mark Devotionals
[Please read and meditate on the passage before (or after) reading the devotion.]
We humans tend to have an “edifice complex”, i.e. we love to put our faith in the grandeur of the architecture of our buildings, like churches, cathedrals, temples… The disciples were no different. Jesus wasn’t being a “party-pooper” when he prophesied the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. On the one hand that really was going to happen, primarily because the Jewish nation gave more importance to the Temple than the God it stood for and was to be worshiped. But he was also pointing to the time when “the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). This destruction of the religious place would also happen because there would come a time when the world would reach such a stage of political, social and spiritual unrest that physical representations of religion like church buildings would no longer be so important. People instead needed to be looking for the transformation that God was going to bring about in individual lives, and in society. Where do we put our trust in? What do we look forward to God transforming?
Prayer: I love my buildings, Lord; my church, my house, my workplace… Maybe love them too much. They are, after all, given by you. And they are temporary; at best for a life-time. But you are eternal, O God our Creator. And you are doing something in our world to prepare us for that eternity. Help me to keep my eyes on what you are doing that prepares us for eternity instead of being satisfied with the immediate present. Yes, Lord, I realize that you want us to care for what you have entrusted to us. But you are going to “make all things new”. May I yearn for that with all my heart so that I will not get discouraged when I have to “let go” of those things that are “old”. May you be praised in all things. Amen.
