In our street, a new house was recently built. Day by day, the construction team loaded their wheelbarrows with bricks, and steadily the walls rose higher. Only after the final brick, along with the roof and windows, found their place could the keys be handed over—a dream home for a new family, in a neighbourhood where new friendships can flourish.
To me, this is a powerful metaphor for how Paul compares believers to a building. “You are God’s building,” Paul writes to the Corinthians (1 Cor 3:9b). He echoes this to the Ephesians: “You are a building founded on the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone” (Eph 2:20). It reminds me again of the new house: without bricks, there can be no house. Yet a pile of bricks on an empty plot also doesn’t make a home! That’s precisely what Paul teaches the believers in Ephesus: only when each one—Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female—finds their place, do we together become “a spiritual house in which God dwells” (Eph 2:22). Only then “rises the whole building to become a holy temple to the Lord” (v21).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said: “The person who excludes will destroy community (koinonia), but the person who loves everyone around them will build community.” Every brick is needed. This is how God’s building process works.
With God, there are no individual piles; no status or position that distinguishes people from one another. In God’s family, things look different! We live differently! We think differently about one another. We recognize God in each other.
PRAYER: I know I exclude others, Lord. I must confess it, because this is not Your will.
MUSIC
We’ll watch the lyric video of UNDIVIDED by FBC Choir.
Melody Tunney is a talented songwriter and composer, especially known for her work in Christian and inspirational music. One of her well-known compositions is the song Undivided, which she co-wrote with Jerry Twyford and Ron Kenoly. The song carries a powerful message of unity and devotion, emphasizing the importance of leading a life wholly dedicated to God. Tunney’s ability to combine heartfelt lyrics with uplifting melodies has made Undivided a beloved piece in worship settings, resonating deeply with audiences seeking spiritual connection and encouragement.