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Mustard Seed November/December 2002
Did You Know That You Are The Temple Of God
And the spirit of God dwells in You?
Mustard Seed - November/December 2002
A few weeks ago my wife and I were pre-treating a home for termites and insects during the building process. The architect dropped in to survey the progress of the home and asked us if we had gone by the home we treated six months ago. He said they were having an open house for the Albuquerque Parade of Homes and we should go by and see it.
We finished our work and immediately left to see this house. Upon arrival we noticed several other homes on the same block participating in the Parade of Homes open house, and decided to see them also. At the entry of each home there was a box of booties (shoe covers) that each guest was expected to use to keep dirt, mud, stickers and construction material from being tracked into the home. Some people chose to remove their shoes instead of using the foot covers. Visitors were provided with an area where they could comfortably sit while they prepared their feet for entry and a place to protect their shoes until they were ready to depart.
Every home we entered was immaculate from the shinny new door knobs to the freshly placed sod. Each home had a refreshing smell of potpourri and cleanliness. All the furnishings and decor were neatly in place . The coordination between each architect and their interior designer left no doubt that their home was well planned in every way. Every home we visited encouraged us to choose it over any other to dwell in. What a contrast from a few of the homes we do pest control for. One set of apartments in particular kept coming to mind.
These apartment! owners were not present this day and the manager had to open the door to let us in. When the door finally opened after much jiggling with the key we were hit in the face with the stench of rotting, decaying food mixed with the odor of death, disease, animal feces and urine. We wanted to hold our breath for fear of becoming infected with a disease, bacteria or a virus. We looked for ways to skip this place and go on to the next, but it was obvious the manager intended for us to enter and treat the apartment while she waited a few feet outside the door and out of the direct path of the repugnant air current. "What did you see?" She demanded, as we rapidly emerged holding our breath almost to the point of unconsciousness.
As I continue to reflect on both homes, I was reminded about the scriptures that said our bodies are temples and that the spirit of God dwell in us. I made a mental note that I would search these scriptures as part of this weeks Sabbath study and then I continued to dwell on these two homes. What type of home have I prepared for God's spirit to dwell in? Is it like the home featured in the parade of homes, or like the one filled with all kinds of filth, pests and disease?
I continued meditating on these two homes and remembered that when most new tenants or home owners move into a new home it is clean and pest free, and unless we are constantly on guard it is easy to little by little let problems build up. An unclean home does not happen all at once. There is a time when you realize that these pests are a big problem and you must deal with them or they will continue to become an even bigger problem until severe damage is done.
This past Sabbath I found the scriptures that I was looking for. They are::
2 Corinthians 6:1-18 with particular attention to verse 16: " and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God and they shall be my people."
1 Corinthian 6:1-20 "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [which is] in you, which ye have of God and you are not your own?"
I Corinthian 3:16-17 "know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which [temple] ye are."
Psalm 51: (David's plea for mercy, forgiveness, and cleansing.) .........verses 10-12: "Create in me a pure heart, 0 God and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."
The Temple Of God, Must Be Free Of The Filth And Pests Of Sin
-Ed Costanza
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