2 CHRONICLES 1 & 2

 READ: 2 Chronicles 1, 2

PASSAGE TO REFLECT

The house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. 6 But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him? 1 Chron 2:5, 6

REFLECT

I visited the Church of Mary of the Angels in Bukit Batok recently on a quiet weekday. It was just a random, curious visit as I had been there several times before to conduct funeral services but had never been into the worship hall. The splendour and the serenity of the sanctuary and its surroundings simply took my breath away. I marveled at the details with which this church had been built. The pews were of solid wood, the high ceiling gave the sanctuary a sense of grandeur, a model of the crucified Christ hung suspended from the ceiling, and a fountain/waterfall springing from the middle of the sanctuary led me to worship in silent awe. The entire atmosphere made me just want to worship God in the splendour of God's holiness.

Of course I wondered too about the millions of dollars that was spent building this church. I also visited many church buildings in Europe, especially in Italy. I dare say, not a single church I visited was 'ugly' or cheap. Most had high ceilings, beautiful wall paintings, and expensive altars and candle stands. In each of these churches, much expense was spent in constructing a sanctuary fit for worshipping God.

The issue of church structure and architecture has always been controversial. On the one hand, many of those who had visited or worshipped at these beautiful churches have commented about how they sensed the Presence of God in these places of worship. They spoke about the serenity in these places, and even about how inspired they were to worship, looking at the stained glass windows or the paintings on the walls and ceilings, or listening to the organ being played. Visiting a place like that allowed the worshipper or visitor to worship, and find healing.

On the other hand, I have also visited churches (if one can even call them that) where little attention or expense is paid to the building. I have been to churches that have no walls, and where congregants sit on mud floors and sheltered by coconut leaves. And I have felt the Presence of the Lord there as well.

And so here lies the conundrum: Is spending tens of millions of dollars on a beautiful church building a waste of money, which could have been used for other purposes? Or is having a church that is 'nothing to look at' an insult to God? There seems to be no meeting point between the 'theology of the Splendour of God', and that of the Omnipresence of God.

This part of King Solomon's message to King Hiram of Tyre attempts quite successfully to bridge the gap.

Solomon first expresses his understanding that God is worth every expense it costs to build the Temple. "The Temple will be great", he says, "because our God is greater than all gods!", implying that the Temple must befit the greatness of God, and be much more splendid than any of the high places used by the Canaanites to worship their gods. It must stand out above all the high places, making clear to all that our God is the greatest. Many of the churches in Europe were built so as to be the highlight of the city, the grandest building in the most important part of the town or city.

However, Solomon then acknowledged that one cannot house God, no matter how large and grand the Temple might be. Nothing he or anyone else built could contain God. God fills the heavens and the earth; He is larger than the heavens and fills the earth.

Then Solomon concludes that even though this splendid Temple is way too small for God, it will be a place where people can gather to worship God.

There is no conclusion as to how much one should spend on building a church. Each decision will have to be made by those entrusted with the duty of building the church. But from Solomon's message, we can draw 3 principles:

1) God deserves the best; more than we can give to or do for anything or anyone else.

2) Not even our best can stand up to who God is and what He can do.

3) What we do can lead others to know and worship God.

RELATE

One of the most important lessons I need to learn daily is to do my best for God whatever that job is. The apostle Pual wrote this to the church in Colossus:  "Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people" [Colossians 3:23]. Whether it is doing something mundane like housework, or something necessary like studying or our jobs, or something for church like teaching children or preparing for our community meals, we strive to not only do our best, but constantly find ways to improve on our service. We can do this by being mindful of the activity that we are engaged in at the moment. If we believe that everything we do is to be done 'as to the Lord', then we learn to put our minds and hearts to the task at hand. If we are having a conversation with another person, are we attentive to what is being said? Are we conscious to what we are saying? Do we cut corners when we work, or do we pay attention to how well we are doing the job that we are engaged in at the moment? Learning to put our hearts and minds to the task at hand for the sake of God is an important discipline to practise. God deserves nothing but the best.

Having done our best though, we practise the next important discipline (and probably more difficult one) which is to acknowledge that our best may not be that good. This attitude allows us to accept criticism and even rejection. It is very difficult, when we have done our best job, to accept criticism for it. Yet when we are able to accept that our best may be nothing much, we will be at peace. This attitude is best exemplified in the story of the widow and the two mites. The widow gave her all; Jesus said she gave all that she had. Yet in real terms, two mites could barely even have bought her anything. It was of no monetary value to the upkeep of the Temple.

That brings us to the third principle. That regardless of how inadequate our best may be, God will use it to help others know and worship Him. The two mites that the widow gave may not have amounted to anything for the Temple fund, but it revealed the nature of God's heart to countless Christians over the centuries. The little act that you do mindfully for God will be used to reveal God in ways we may not understand now. My mother who is in her late 80s is facing the early stages of dementia. Recently her very loving helper Jane had to rush home to the Philippines to attend her brother's funeral. This left mum with no help for two weeks to do even simple functions such as brushing her teeth or showering. Right away her former students and church members rallied around to roster to visit her daily and to help her to shower and to attend to her. Two members of her church (she had not been attending church physically for several years now) came to sing with her and attend to her and told her that she had impacted their lives because "you brought us breakfast every Sunday morning". How our smallest deeds lead to worship in ways we could never have known!

It is an important part of Christian living to strive for the highest, but to hold the achievements and accolades which we receive lightly and with open hands.

When I was in secondary school, I had a mentor Edmund Chua who was an evangelist and Bible teacher in Singapore and India. Although he did not have much formal education, he was a very effective and much sought after evangelist and preacher. I wanted to be like him and told him so. I also wanted to quit school early and be a preacher just like him. This was how he responded, "Go as far in your education and career as you can. If you have a chance, get a degree or even a doctorate. But hold all of these lightly and with open hands. God can use all your achievements or nothing at all. You do not know which He will use and which He will not use. But be at your best and be ready to go where and when He calls you."

REST

1 All to Jesus I surrender,

All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

Refrain:

I surrender all, I surrender all;

All to Thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

2 All to Jesus I surrender,

Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;

Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,

Truly know that Thou art mine. [Refrain]

3 All to Jesus I surrender,

Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power,

Let Thy blessing fall on me. [Refrain]

Chiu Ming Li