Building A Sanctuary

Building a Sanctuary

Mary, Mark’s Mother

Read: Acts 12:12

As with many other women in the Bible, only one verse mentions this Mary by name, but these few words give us a glimpse into her life. We know that her son Mark wrote the second Gospel. We also know that Mary had a servant and a home spacious enough to provide a gathering place for the early Christians in Jerusalem. Mary lived out her devotion to God by offering up her home for his purposes. When an angel released Peter from prison, he immediately went to Mary’s house.

Americans are building bigger and bigger homes and spending more money on furnishing them. With the growing popularity of home decorating shows and magazines, dissatisfaction with our own homes may prevent us from inviting friends over. What people remember most after being in our homes will be the atmosphere, not the furniture or the paint on the walls. If our goal is to reach out lovingly to others as Jesus did, we won’t obsess over our decorating schemes. We’ll concentrate on making our homes a sanctuary where people can be refreshed and sense God’s love.

The attitudes of our hearts determine the atmosphere in our homes. Just as God’s presence can hopefully be sensed in our church buildings and in our homes, his Holy Spirit lives in each believer. Peter referred to believers as “living stones” that God uses to build his spiritual temple. As we allow God to conform us to Christ’s image, he makes us part of this sanctuary. When the goal of our lives is worship and obedience, that’s a “decorating scheme” people can’t help but notice.

You are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.

1 Peter 2:5