Ephesians 2:21,22
“in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
God uses many metaphors in scripture to depict our relationship with Him. This one is what the church is becoming, the temple of God. 1 Peter 2:5 says somethings similar, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” God could have chosen the most glorious of structures to be His house. That’s not what He wants. He wants to be with us. Jesus says in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” Jesus is with all of His children individually. Yet, when there is more than one gathered in His name, He’s there in a special way. In psychology, a whole area of study is attachment. It begins in infancy. The mother and child are attached and continue to foster that relationship. Mom holds baby as they stare into eachothers eyes. If mom’s not paying attention, the baby will cry to get her attention. As we get older, we don’t need to be so connected. However, we still crave attachment. This is why people love dogs. They provide attachment warmth without the drama of words. As adults, we also need those around that we’re attached to. We don’t need it all the time, but every so often. God created us like this. This is part of what it means to be in the image of God. He also wants to be connected to us. This is why those who think they are bothering God with their prayers are way off the mark. They are saddening Him by living independantly of Him. Scripture speaks of how Jesus and the Holy Spirit live within us, when we’re born again. The rest of our lives are spent aligning our connection to Him. He’s in us at the new birth, but our consciousness and our scriptural understanding aren’t aware of it. Good teaching and quiet times with Him, make us aware of how close He is. We are all stones put together to be His house, His dwelling place. Lord, make us aware of Your closeness and help us to attach to You.