July 20: Under Construction
Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 1:3
You are a construction site. If construction is halted due to a lack of cooperation on your part, then there will inevitably be an influx of weeds, mold, and other destructive intruders as well as a lack of protection from violent weather and extreme temperatures.
In the days of Zechariah the prophet, God’s people were not taking seriously His call to complete the rebuilding of the temple. The task was about half done, and then largely abandoned in favor of the mundane tasks of day-to-day living. Their failure to anticipate the coming Messiah facilitated a steady spiritual weakening that worsened with each generation. The Holy Spirit showed Zechariah that his contemporaries were functioning on the very same presumption as their predecessors: living like pagans while claiming to be God’s people. But the promised Messiah was coming and would inhabit the temple. It must be built to completion!
The invitation to return is issued by the Creator and Redeemer who identifies Himself (three times!) in our opening verse as the LORD of hosts. He is the Commander of armies of angels. There are, in all likelihood, billions and billions of angels! The humble soul who desires to return to Him is welcomed, rejoiced over, and aided by the powers of Heaven.
In the New Testament our bodies are compared to a temple that is under construction. Every construction project has a completion deadline. For each of us, that point is either the day we die or the close of probation (see Revelation 15:6, 22:11) which ushers in the seven last plagues. These plagues are the prelude to the day of Jesus Christ.
The Savior’s Holy Spirit wants to live in us. It is not a coincidence that Jesus was trained as a carpenter by His earthly father. The skillful input of shaping, fitting, sanding and refining is an apt metaphor for the work of the Creator as He works with us to shape and refine our characters. For we are God’s fellow workers… you are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9). If we are to be saved it is essential, just as in Zechariah’s day, to remain engaged with Him who is the Chief Construction Engineer and the Source of all life. Only He can enact the series of transformations from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18) that will bring to completion the building of our characters. However, He will not do this without express permission from each individual for Him to enter and do His work. May the confidence that Paul expressed toward the church at Philippi apply to each of us.
…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6