Zeal for your House

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. John 2:13-22

These days there are so many real estate shows on television, history might record that all of us worried about property and design. Folks in following generations might wonder if all we worried about was money as well. Truly, we can be known by what we put our time and energy into. We can make our lives invitational or transactional, caring only about how much we will gain from any interaction. We can worry so much about looks that the heart is lost completely.

Jesus enters the temple and all he can see is the transactions. There were many rules and regulations, and the pilgrims that came from afar had to use certain currency and special sacrifices. The life of faith was controlled by the bankers of the time. We can find ourselves in the self-same situation. We can be run by budgets or we can be motivated by faith and spirit. Sometimes we have to actively make that choice.

Today, I ask God to help me choose faith and spirit in all things. May we not be like the moneychangers, but rather those who walk in faith, welcoming all and making room in the most humble of places.