21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Imagine that, we are being joined together and becoming something holy that God chooses as a place to carry out His work. Wow, what a contrast to my normal stuck in traffic identity. I am usually impatiently trying to figure out who the individual is with sub-human intelligence at the beginning of this mess. Becoming a place where God wants to live is certainly something we don’t deserve. And what a contrast to our everyday lives. How can a Holy God dwell in such unholy creatures? Well, the answer is that He makes us holy. But what about all the unholy that is still seeping out every day? How can God dwell there? When God’s people yield their wills to His will, He makes us holy. And when a bunch of us get together He joins us in that gathering. All the earthly barriers are dropped and we see each other as fellow parts of something much bigger than ourselves. But it is not some social club that meets to support some mutual cause that will better humankind. There are enough of those organizations out there. We don’t need to start another one. No, God calls us to be a place where He lives and does His work. First, He wants to work in us, changing us, making us like Him. That means His job is to clean us up, our job is to yield to His craftsmanship. And sometimes the craftsman has to use a chisel to break free a stubborn bit of misshapen wood. That takes effort and force, and we must be willing to let God work, even when our pride gets hurt. But the result of His work in us is that we become something of honor. His work in us means He can then use us to reach out to others. God can use a donkey to accomplish His purpose, but His pleasure is to use a yielded person, in the process of becoming a reflection of His holy character. Are you yielding today?
The Arnold Journey 