Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:
Greetings once again in the love of our Lord.
When King Solomon fulfilled his father King David’s dream of building the Temple as a habitation of the Lord he had unlimited resources — finances, materials, craftsmen, manpower — and he wanted to build for God the very best he could build. “I have surely built you a lofty house, a place for your dwelling forever,” he prayed. (1 Kings 8.12)
Way down in the middle of Chiapas, the most southern state of Mexico, another temple will also be a dwelling place for God. In the town of Tzabalhó, nestled a mile high in the Sierra Madre mountains, pastor Victorio also had dream of building the best he could offer for the glory of God. The inside should be “lujo,” he said, “luxurious.” It was more important than the outside, he said, for God’s presence would inhabit it. In the Old Testament the people of Israel gave generously for the building of the Temple. The temple in Tzabalhó became a reality through the generosity of friends who love the indigenous people of Mexico. Solomon hired craftsmen and used slaves. Victorio had a combination of hired workers and volunteers. The Old Testament Temple had a dedication that lasted for days and multitudes of people were present. Tzabalhó’s house of worship only lasted for a day, but there were a thousand people present to celebrate! In that one day of celebration they ate two bulls, a ton of tortillas, and more than two thousand cans of soft drinks.
It took King Solomon twenty years to build his house and the Temple. It took Pastor Victorio thirty years to see the Tzabalhó temple completed. Solomon’s benediction was, “May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us.” (1 Kings 8.57) Victorio prayed, “May the Lord be with us, watch over us, and bless us.”
My question is, as God watched over both temples, both dedications, which was most proud of? I think the answer is neither. As magnificent as both structures are, what is more magnificent, and what God loves more, is the people who come to His house to worship him. In the heavenly Jerusalem, already begun in God’s Church on earth, it is his overcoming people who are “pillars in the temple of my God.” (Revelation 3.11).
God bless you,
Larry