Our Hearts are God's Temples

Scripture:  Luke 19:45-48

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, "It is written, `My house shall be a house of prayer'; but you have made it a den of robbers." 47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him; 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people hung upon his words.

Christ Driving the Merchants from the Temple
By: Jacob Jordaens

Reflection: God takes the holiness of His temple seriously. The only incident in the bible where Jesus used physical force was when He drove out the money changers from the temple. We may ask ourselves why Jesus was upset by people just trying to make a living. The truth is that the money changers were people who cheat their neighbor out of their hard earned money. They take advantage of the poor and force them to pay a lot more than they owe, and they do this right in the house of God.

Our bodies and souls are temples of God too, that is why when we sin we drive away the Lord from His rightful place. Jesus comes to us everyday knocking on the door of our hearts hoping that it would be ready to receive Him. It is better to welcome Him while he still knocks or He might resort to discipline in cleansing our sinful hearts.

This coming season where we prepare for Christmas, let us also prepare ourselves spiritually to give God a temple worthy of Himself.