The downtown churches in some of our cities have the most amazing architecture you will ever see.
As you stroll around downtown you will come upon church after church that will
astound you. One day when I was running through one of these cities I decided
to do my five miles by running from church to church. Many had really high steeples so all I had to do was watch
the skyline for the tall structures. As I ran
up to the buildings I would read the plaques on the sides or fronts of the
buildings that gave me a little of the history…things like...what year it was built and
who the architect was. I could just see a typical Sunday morning, many years ago, where literally thousands of people streamed into downtown to attend worship in these beautiful temples. The music and worshipful voices must have hung thick in the air. I could imagine how the people would pour out of the churches after services and flow out into the surrounding communities carrying the Light of the world.
These magnificent buildings had been built to glorify God…to be places where a city would join in worship…to be a light to the world around them…places of hope, encouragement, and healing.
But now many of these incredible structures stand empty on Sundays…many have only a handful of people that attend…some of the churches have been saved only for their historical value and stand empty...some shine no light at all…for others that light has been severely dimmed…some are no longer even churches...so many dark, empty, and powerless temples. The once thriving Sunday worship has become a mere whisper in the city.
I looked around me and in just a few blocks in almost any direction and I
could see poverty…literally miles and miles of hurting people. ...some desperate…many
angry…many hopeless. The sounds I could hear were sirens and the buzz of a nearby freeway. The poverty level astounding...the crime rate appalling...I thought how incredibly sad that these magnificent temples
were not filled with people who would pour out of them every week and make a
difference in this city…filling it with the light of God’s love....bringing healing to this hurting community.
As I stood staring at one of the empty temples a scripture settled over me “They had a form of Godliness but lacked the power”. I was sadden that these unbelievable buildings have a form of godliness but lack the power to change this city. And then...I had this overwhelming sense of God saying to me "I do not live in temples made
of stone....I live in you...you are my temple and you were built by a pretty
good architect. Don’t allow yourself to become like these dark empty temples….don’t
allow My temple to be ineffective…don’t let My light go dim in your
life…don’t look godly but lack My power. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead…dwells in
you. Go...make a difference."
