Monday, December 3, 2018


Temple of Heaven
 By Elin Henderson

“Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’s thy God,
 the earth also, with all that therein is.”

Two years ago we had the incredible experience and privilege to visit China on our way to a conference in Thailand. Thanks to the assistance of a helpful Chinese guide, we fit in an inordinate amount of “tourism” in a short 36-hour period. We saw everything from the Great Wall to the Forbidden City. And last, but not least, was the Temple of Heaven. She explained to us that this was where the Emperor would come twice a year to make sacrifices and pray to the heavens. 

There was much ritual and formality to ensure that the god of the heavens/nature god would give them a fruitful planting and then harvest season. As we were walking through the incredibly colorful and ornate passageways leading to the Temple, she made sure that we knew that the ritual doesn’t take place anymore because there is no Emperor. She then continued to say that people do still pray to the heavens - - for they control the seasons. 

I asked her, “Who then controls the heavens?” 

Perplexed, she stopped. Then looked at me with a grin and replied, “No one, I guess.” 

It broke my heart to hear her reply and to know that to her, along with millions of others, that question remains unanswered. How I longed to have the time to sit down and share with her that there is One who controls the heavens. And more than that, there is One who knows us all by name and loves us! 

Nature, disconnected from a Creator is a sad, random and disorganized thing. How encouraging and hope-giving is it to know that our Creator spoke the heavens and earth into existence, organized and ordered them. [1] That He owns them. [2] He controls and dominates them. [3] He dwells in them. [4] He can open them up or shut them down. [5] He listens from them. [6] They cannot contain Him. [7] That He pours out blessings from them as well as righteousness. [8] And the list could go on… 

The heavens are His temple and to Him do we lift up our prayers and hopes, not twice a year, but every moment of every day!

                                                                                            
GOING DEEPER:                                                       
1.    How does knowing the God of the Heavens bring peace to your little piece of earth today?

FURTHER READING:

[3] Job 9:8

Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as church planters with Ethnos 360 in Mozambique, Africa.  Elin is mother to eighteen-year-old Callie and fifteen-year-old Elias.