He Has Not Closed The Embassy

June 24

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are,” I Corinthians 3:16, 17.

What patriotic American would enter the White House with the intention of destroying it? No one with a true patriot’s heart would ever contemplate such a thing. What loyal English subject would ever besmirch the dignity of Buckingham Palace? Again, not one. What true believer in Christ would contemplate profaning a church? The sanctity of the Lord’s house would not allow him to violate it in any way.

Yet the Holy, Immutable Word of the God we love, of the Savior who died and rose that we may live eternally has emphatically told us that we, His people who believe in Him are His Temple, His Holy Place, and often we allow ourselves to indulge behaviors, to think thoughts, to pursue goals that are offensive to our Lord.

What we do with this tabernacle of flesh that encases the essence of who we are is not meant for vain or imprudent pursuits. These lips are not intended for foolish or improper conversation.

We are “ambassadors for Christ,” II Corinthians 5:20, and as such it is our duty to represent Him as He is. When we encounter others of like precious faith or when we interact with people who do not share our faith, it behooves us to be mindful that our bodies are His temple, His embassy in a foreign land.

We are “citizens of Heaven, not of this world,” Philippians 3:20. We are “strangers and sojourners here,” I Chronicles 29:15 and I Peter 2:11, and it is imperative that we represent Our King and His Kingdom with honor and reverence and respect for those among whom we interact.

Sometimes we become caught up in the mindset of the world. We find ourselves desiring the pleasures and pursuits of those around us. We want what they want; we pursue the same goals they seek. When we do, we are forgetting who we are, we are forgetting Whose we are; we are neglecting our role of representing the Lord Jesus Christ in the beauty of His holiness upon us.

It is essential that we return to our first love (see Revelation 2:4) as Jesus admonished the believers of Ephesus. We must be mindful that He does not desire a lukewarm love from us but a fervent love. To be tepid in our devotion to and our representation of the Savior is tantamount to being cold (see Revelation 3:16).

As His ambassadors, as the keepers of His embassy, our bodies are indeed His Temple. If we represent Him well, the lost and dying world around us will see Him through us.

We live in an age where darkness is rapidly closing in around us. Our temple is being assailed by a world that is growing ever more indulgent of evil. In some parts of the world, Christianity is under siege and the mindset of opposition to our Lord and His Kingdom is growing.

He has not yet closed the embassy and returned His ambassadors to Himself, so as long as He allows us to remain where we are, it is our utmost duty and privilege to maintain the honor and integrity of His Temple.