Articles
From Thriving to Desolate
From Thriving to Desolate
In 2016 Rio was a thriving ground of athletic prowess. By 2017 it was abandoned, unprotected, looted and in horrible disrepair. The soccer field and golf course have turned brown and have huge chunks missing. Seats in the stands have been stolen, ripped out or destroyed. Swimming pools and fountains contain putrid orange water from a combination of rust, bugs and who knows what else. TV's have been stolen. Custom made decorative panels are ripped, torn down and missing. The facilities overall resemble that of a ghost town, the polar opposite of what it was a few months before. It cost Rio billions of dollars build these structures, decorations and to run the games. Now, it is a forsaken trash heap. How sad it is that something that was once so vibrant is now empty, and will probably continue in this way.
Rio is not the only place that was once busy and thriving but is now empty and desolate. Concerning the valley surrounding Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 13 records, “Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.” (Verse 10). Sin destroyed what was once a place likened to the Garden of Eden. Today, it is the home of the Dead Sea and is surrounded by desert. THAT is what sin does.
There is another place that should be active much more than it is, but is often limited. That place is none other than the place of worship. No, not the building, but the temple known as our hearts (1 Corinthians 6:19).
See, it could be that one of the only days the temple of our heart is busy and active for the Lord is on Sunday. But once Monday rolls around, is this same temple completely abandoned? Is the Lord worshiped anymore that week? Do we continue in service to the Lord the rest of the week? Do we give the Lord anything more than a passing glance once Monday rolls around?
It is great that we worship on Sunday's, but we must not let the temple of our hearts become a Rio look-a-like on Monday. Christ gave up His life. He deserves more than just a day or two from us (Luke 10:27).
