For we are God's masterpiece, created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good actions that…
Too Important to be made Common
There is nothing quite like spending time with young kids. They have an innocence and freshness about life that inspires me about the important things of life. Both of my granddaughters have a treasured possession. They each gain great comfort from this treasure, protect it with great intensity and turn to it when they need to renew their strength. For my oldest, it is a white. For my youngest, it is pink. Whenever they are tired or stressed, they reach for their blanket and all of life seems okay for a little while. My one year old granddaughter has already developed a habit of instinctively raising her fingers to her mouth as soon as she grasps her blanket.
Now, I have no intention of finding my own blanket to bring comfort to my life but I was reminded by them that something in my life should be this important to me. I read this same thought today in 1 Kings 6:6. King Solomon was in the process of building the temple. He believed this was the place where God would reside when He visited the nation of Israel. Just as the Israelites stayed in tents in the desert even though their real home was the land of Israel, God would have a place in Israel even though His real dwelling is in heaven. In order to make God’s house different than every other dwelling in the nation, Solomon, “made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.”
Other buildings could have decorations attached to the outside of their walls but not the temple. Other structures could have common elements added to them but not the temple. It was too important to be made common.
I have been asking myself, “What is it in my life that is more important than everything else? What do I value enough to take care of with extra attention?” I concluded that my family relationships and my Bible are my two most precious “possessions.” They deserve extra attention and they are what I turn to in times of stress or fatigue.
What is your prized possession?
My prize possessions would be my bible, relationship with God, wife, then kids. Putting your prize possessions in prospective brings joy and gives you a sense of your purposes. As men, we must be protectors and directors of our family. The only way to do so is by giving attention to the what god says is the order of things. Then you live by that order as men. It brings prosperity and longevity.