REFLECTIONS

Monuments to God

The entryways are bounded by stone carvings that represent our biblical past—images of people and events that honored God. There are hundreds of them. The carvings offer an introduction to the monuments found inside the walls of a majestic Paris cathedral called Notre Dame.

Inside this grand cathedral are countless other monuments that honor and symbolize love for the Lord our God. Stained glass windows disperse the light glistening through them to cast kaleidoscopes of brilliance into a sacred setting. Candles reflect the prayers placed by those passing through while bells ring in celebration and choir voices echo praises to God throughout the sanctuary. Majestic chandeliers hang from steep pitched ceilings that reach toward the sky, and altars decorated with precious metals offer invitations for prayer. All are monuments to God.

Notre Dame Cathedral with all these many monuments contained within its walls is itself a monument to God. Such monuments have been built in honor of our God for centuries. Solomon’s Temple was dedicated to YAWEH almost 3,000 years ago; and even before that, the Bible records that the first altar to God was built by Noah after the great flood. These and many others have been mankind’s attempts to honor God and to express love for him. But as magnificent as these monuments were or may be, none of them can adequately express the love of God.

God is love, the scripture tells us. No matter the beauty of them, colorful glass pieces bound together can’t express the warmth of God’s love. But people can. No structure, no matter its size or majestic design can convey the depth of God’s love. But people can.

God made each of us in his own image, and He sent his Son to reveal his love and to encourage us to love the way He does. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

 Most of us will never have a hand in building monuments to God like those within the walls of Notre Dame Cathedral, or a magnificent temple like Solomon, or even an altar like Noah. But there is an opportunity for something even more. The greatest monument we can ever offer our loving God is to live our lives as a monument of his unfailing love.

For him there is no greater monument to build.                                                                                                   

You are the light of the world,

Richard+ 

www.reflectingthesavior.org