BIBLE READING: LEVITICUS 1, 2, 3; MATHEW 24: 1 – 26
“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, see ye not all these things, verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down”. – Mathew 24:1-2 (KJV)
Jesus as well as the disciples must have been so shocked by this episode. The focus of the disciples was exactly opposite that of Jesus. While Jesus focused on spiritual things, the disciples focused on physical things. Jesus focused on eternal things while the disciples focused on temporal things. Jesus focused on the souls and destiny of men with strong passion for their salvation while the disciples seemed to be carried away by the aesthetic features of the temple.
Oh how we make the same mistake today and base our success on material things like the size of our auditorium, the beauty of our church buildings, the number of cars in our car park the crowd that attend our church services. Sometimes, we get carried away by our packaging, the fine shirts and shoes and the private jets. We compete with others for the number of services in our weekly activities and the number of branches. Jesus is not often impressed by all these. Multitude came to him but he could not commit himself to them because most of them were bread and miracle seekers as we have today.
Jesus could not be deceived by the crowd or the buildings; he came to seek and to save the lost. He is more interested in the kingdom impact and the destiny of people. Only what is done for the kingdom will last.
Prayer: Dear Lord, let your heart beat be my heart beat.
Rev. Vincent Diolu