Hymn: “Built on the Rock the Church Doth Stand” – Nicolai F. S. Grundvig (1783-1872)
Translated – Carl Doving
Typical
Tune: KIRKEN
The
One whose dwelling place is in heaven has agreed to live among us with
compassion, turning our very bodies into holy ground. That’s not nearly as
poetic, but it gets at the point of this hymn-line.
That
is some pretty powerful stuff to ponder today. It’s about the transcendency of
God (his high holy nature) and the reality that he descends to where we are. Heaven came down as a kindhearted
associate.
That
final phrase is the clincher in this hymn-line – that our very bodies have
become his temple. In John 2:21, Jesus called HIS body a temple. We share that
temple-ness according to 1 Corinthians 6:19: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your
own.”
We
call that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But when I think of my BODY as a
TEMPLE, I get a different mental image. I’m not just a house where the Spirit
of Christ takes up residence, I am a holy house, set apart for holy things.
That could and should make a difference in my attitude and my behavior.
By
definition, a temple is set aside for the sacred; that space is reserved for or
dedicated to holy activity only. The very word temple has the same root as our
word “template” – or plan/design/outline. In architectural planning processes,
buildings often include what is called ‘dedicated space’ – set aside for one
specific purpose only… and that applies here.
Nestled
in the middle of a hymn text that has been around for some time and has been
translated and re-translated over the years, we find three important truths
about the God we worship and serve. I need to rethink all three as I go about
my day today. How about you?
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