June 11

1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 4
One cannot help but be impressed with the work and wealth that was put into the building of the temple.  Solomon carried out his father’s wishes to the letter, and added his own wealth and wisdom to the project.  There have been a lot of artist renderings on how the temple may have looked.  I suspect that they all fall short.  The temple, although not housing God, was a testament to the faith of His people.  When the nations would look upon this structure they were impressed.  I wonder what the world thinks when they look upon our places of worship.  Do our structures give a positive reflection of our faith?  One of the first weddings I performed was at a church that had a nice looking building.  However, the groom-to-be asked a difficult question.  He wanted to know why there were no religious symbols.  This particular building didn’t have even so much as a cross in sight.  I suppose the reason was because they didn’t want to have anything that could be associated with an idol.  Sometimes we go too far in trying to avoid appearances that are counter to our faith.  We need to remember that it isn’t the structure that makes an idol.  It is the worship of the structure.  Let’s be careful that in avoiding one appearance, we don’t project a negative witness.