September 6

Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. — Ezra 1:3 BSB

There is another temple to build for the Lord, and builders are needed. The call comes not from a foreign king but from Christ himself. Everyone is invited to take part in this great work. The temple in Jerusalem, built by those earlier laborers, has long since vanished, and every trace of their work is gone. But the temple Christ is calling us to build will stand forever, and everything we do for it will be eternal.

How can we contribute to this heavenly temple? By doing everything we can in this world for Christ. Our own lives are part of the temple. We can seek to make our character beautiful and holy. We can work to bring others to Christ, helping to improve their lives, building in them a likeness to Jesus. Even the smallest things we do for Christ are like stones laid on the walls of God’s eternal house, or like delicate touches of beauty on a glorious building. We may not see now how valuable our work is, but one day we will. Nothing done with pure love for our Lord will ever be in vain! No act of love placed on another’s life will ever fade away.