August 06, 2020
Exodus 26:30 KJV
And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.
The level of detail that God gives to Moses regarding the building of the tabernacle is quite remarkable. The details of God’s design are acutely specific down to the color, size, shape, material, and craftsmanship. While a passerby might look at the tabernacle in wonder as a whole, the details would perhaps be unrecognized. They would possibly never understand the significance of which specific wood was covered by which precious metal and used in which special structure. But as we reflect on the design of God, I cannot help but notice that God took extreme care and gave unprecedented design. God knew exactly what it would take to build not only a worship place where His people could commune with Him daily, but He also designed a place where for millennia people would be able to recognize the symbolic beauty of the Gospel of Christ.
Centuries later, Christ came to earth and explained to Peter in Matthew 16 the importance that each “stone” used for building the New Testament church was not a material but a Christian used by God to build His church. The word church in the New Testament Greek was not a reference to a building so much as groups of believers assembling together. Knowing what His church would need, God equipped individuals with the skills necessary to edify other believers, to promote the body of Christ and to bring glory to God. We as Christians are not meant to sit on the sidelines so to speak. We are given purpose through Christ . Even those who aren’t yet saved are given skill sets and personalities that God wants to use. Saul, who would later be renamed Paul, represents a tremendous example of this. When we first see Saul in Scripture, his zeal against the church of God is unmatched. After meeting Jesus, however, the exact same person refocuses his zeal, personality, talents, and abilities to telling others about Christ. The life and testimony of Paul is a great reminder to me that unsaved individuals who seem to be so destructive to the cause of Christ (and who I to my shame struggle to love) could be so instrumental for the cause of Christ and the glory of God. We just need to love them like Christ loves us and loves them too! It is the desire of Christ that we work with them for the glory of God and not against them. They have been gifted by God specifically to help out the body of Christ Understand that the details of your life are no surprise to God, and He wants to use your life specifically to add to His church. And also recognize that no two people are alike by God’s design. He designed others (even those we don’t understand) to be an important part as well. Alone, we may just appear to be a simple stone that has its flaws, but in God’s grand design, together with others, we can be a part of something much larger than ourselves and be used for God’s glory!
— Eli Faulds