Buildings:

Even the highest heaven cannot contain You!

(First Kings 8:27)

Last Saturday evening we were blessed to spend time with pre-sanctuary VCC people—the people without whom, with God’s call upon their lives, there would be no VCC sanctuary. One in particular, shared with me that he was once again working on a VCC building project to replace those smelly portables that we promised the city, some twenty years ago, we would replace.

This morning, by the fire pit, thinking of our conversations last Saturday night and all those church building projects we had been through; I reread the story of King Solomon’s Temple. Being the wisest of all mortals, Solomon knew his beautiful new temple could not contain God. So he wisely prayed that our uncontainable God would nonetheless allow his Name to dwell there—as he had promised Moses during those wandering days of the Tabernacle. Not unlike VCC’s story. We too wandered about from one school multipurpose room to another until we were able to build that Road, and by and by, build something of a place—eventually, even sanctuary, where His Name could dwell.

Our English word “church” means “the Lord's house”. Some think it a poor translation of the N.T. Greek word ekklēsia which means simply “the assembly” or “the gathered”. It’s not about the building, but about how the scattered gather in His name wherever they gather—down by the river as in the early days of Philippi; or, at Priscilla and Aquila’s big house in Corinth or Rome. If VCC’s buildings were to burndown tomorrow, we would gather in the ashes on Sunday Morning and sing praises to His name. We would still be church without all those buildings. It is always by grace that the scattered gather to greet with a “holy kiss” and to sing praises, and to hear again the gospel message.

Nevertheless, wouldn’t it be ungrateful of us if we did not give thanks for these beautiful buildings, thoughtfully designed and carefully built through the sacrifice of the gathered community—of those faithful folks I spent time with last Saturday night?