Read Luke 21:1-19
Ah, the Internet... With the click of a button you have the ability to see more, learn more, even be more than ever before. On just one website you can buy to your heart's content while on another you can pay all your bills. There are dirty and offensive sites to tear down, and biblically grounded ones to build up. The choices seem to be endless. And featured in an issue of Newsweek magazine, there is one website that seems just too bizarre to be true.
It’s a site that allows you to measure yourself by the opinion of others. All you have to do is send in a picture of yourself, and it will be posted on the World Wide Web to be judged. The Internet audience is then asked to rate your appearance on a scale of 1 to 10. If the thought of this is too intimidating for you, you can join the hidden masses and simply rate other people. Sound shallow, degrading, and just plain old masochistic to last? Well, Newsweek reported that since its inception, hundreds of thousands of people have submitted photos, with the recorded hits on the website in the millions. Makes you wonder just what these people see in this site. Or maybe what it is they hope to see.
We're reading today in Luke chapter 21, the first 19 verses. Here we find Jesus and His disciples strolling through the old city of Jerusalem. At one point some of the disciples began to admire the intricate stonework and decorations of the Temple. It’s almost as if they were taking comfort in its beauty and endurance. When Jesus saw this, He made a statement that was sure to not only burst their bubble, but raise more than just a few questions.
The time is coming when all these things will be so completely demolished that not one stone will be left on top of another. Luke 21:6
What an unusual thing to say. Now, while we have the benefit of hindsight and know that Jesus was referring to the eventual fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., there may be another message in this verse. I believe Jesus was also warning us, in this present age, where the temptation is great to place our trust in attractive temporal things. Maybe He was warning us not to get so caught up in the beauty of the temple that we lose sight of the Beauty in the temple. The Holy Presence of Almighty God is what gives true beauty to any dwelling place. And that applies not only to brick and mortar, but to flesh and blood. In his second letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul had this to say about those who accept God's Presence.
For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: "I will live in them..." 2 Corinthians 6:16
I will live in them… That is a promise from Almighty God. If we allow Him to, His very Presence will be alive in us. It’s been said that people are like stained glass windows. They are the most beautiful when viewed through the darkness… with a bright light shining within.
And when we become God’s dwelling place, our beauty could never be rated from a mere 1 to 10.
