Where is God’s House? This is the question that Solomon humbly approaches in our scriptures today. He was tasked with building the very first temple for God, and he did to the grand specifications of his father King David. Yet in all the glory and grandeur of that newly built temple, he stood questioning whether God could, would, or should dwell here on Earth in this one place. Yet there have been thousand of churches/synagogues/mosques throughout time that have claimed to be the house of God. Yet I, too, ask, “Is there any place here on Earth that can contain God? And does God really need a house here on Earth? What really is a place of worship?”
As a child, I used to lay outside with my brothers in the grass and stare up at the sky wondering about where God lived. At that time, I liked to imagine God’s great castle, on the top of the clouds that passed by. At night, I stared at the stars and wondered about just how far away God was. I remember that as I got older I became friends with a woman through babysitting for her children who was an avid church go-er and then after a number of years she stopped attending church. So I asked her why. Her response was that she felt that God was no longer in that church. So again I was confronted with this question of where God lives. Where is God’s home? Is it in these four walls? And if it is, how can God’s home be here and in every other church in the world? Where is the logic in all of that?
What we learn from our scriptures is that God resides with his people, with the faithful. God doesn’t need four walls to exist. God doesn’t need four walls to interact in the lives of humanity. What makes buildings like this church unique is that through our community, through our faith, through our shared experiences, songs, and prayer, God is brought into this space. God is here today just as he was with the community who built this building in the 1830s, because we continue to gather together seeking comfort, solace, inspiration, and guidance in our lives and in our interactions with one another. Our sanctuary has been beautifully renovated bringing to life the warmth, welcome, and joy of those who worship together here. This newly renovated space is meant to be a reminder that when we come together in worship, we bring the Holy with us.
C.H. Spurgeon wrote, “All places are places of worship to a Christian”.[1] God is where ever we call upon him from our homes, to outside, to the very walls of this building. So look around do you see God’s presence here today? Do you see God alive in the works of this community, in the worship and song that we participate in? For in the words of A.W. Tozer, “You can see God from anywhere if your mind is set to love”.[2]
So today in honor of the 250 plus years of service, fellowship, and faith that this community has lived we pray the prayer of Solomon humbly asking that God reveal himself to us, that God continue to lead us, that God make this a place that people continue to come to generation after generation to find support, love, care, and inspiration for the day. Let us continue to live our lives by the plea of the letter to the Colossians when it said, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”.[3] So let us live into radical compassion. Let us care for those in need; let us treat hardships with courage, and let us embrace those who are forced to live on the fringes of society with Christianly love. This has been the mission of our church since its founding in 1762 and this is the legacy we seek to continue living into. Let the warmth of this building extend beyond the doors and into your lives, into your relationships, and into our outreach work.
[1] C.H. Spurgeon, 19th century Theologian
[2] A.W. Tozer, 20th century Theologian.
[3] Colossians 3: 17, RSV.
(based on 1 Kings 8: 22-30 and Colossians 3: 1-4, 12-17; 4: 5-6)
