...purpose

The Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the most beautiful buildings in all the world. What you may not know is how the building of that structure came about. It was begun after the death of the wife of emperor Shah Jahan. 

He was devastated at her death and resolved to honor her by constructing a temple that would serve as her tomb. Her coffin was placed in the center of a large parcel of land, and construction of the temple began around it. No expense would be spared to make her final resting place magnificent.

One of the stories surrounding that building tells us that, as the weeks turned into months, the Shah's grief over his wife's death turned into a passion for the building project. He no longer mourned her absence. 

The construction consumed him. One day, while walking from one side of the construction site to the other, his leg bumped against a wooden box. The prince brushed the dust off his leg and ordered the worker to throw the box out.

What Shah Jahan didn't know is that he had ordered the disposal of the coffin of his late wife. And so the one the temple was intended to honor was forgotten, but the temple was erected anyway.

There is the same danger with church buildings and with churches. If we're not careful, we can forget the purpose for which we were constructed. We can become so consumed with the building process [or even our programs], that we forget the one in whose honor the building is intended.

The apostle Peter calls us back to our purpose:

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (I Peter 2:9).

We live in a world of darkness, a world that doesn't know God. It is our responsibility to "proclaim the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light."

We don't exist so that people can say, "What a great building this is." 

We don't even exist so that people can say, "What a great bunch of people this is." 

We exist so that people can look at us and say, "What a great God!"

-alan smith