Restoring the Heart's Temple

He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” Matthew 21:13 (NLT)

Not long ago, Janice and I picked up our grandson, William, from preschool. Knowing he’d be hungry, we packed him a snack. After unwrapping whatever it is, the wrappers collect haphazardly around his car seat. On this day, he said, “Papa Tim, your car is dirty.” He was right; I had failed to notice how messy it had become. Next week before, picking him up, I vacuumed the car inside and ran it through the car wash. After getting in the car and eating his snack, William said, “Papa Tim, your car is dirty.” I told him I had just cleaned it, to which he responded, “It’s still kind of dirty.” You see, he was able to see what I could not–the residual effects of snacks on the car seat and the blemishes on the upholstery. 

Just as William could see the dirt that I had overlooked in the car, Jesus saw the spiritual corruption in the temple that others had become blind to. His anger wasn't out of malice but out of love for the sanctity of God's house—a place meant for prayer and worship, not greed and exploitation.

When Jesus says, 'The Scriptures declare,' He reminds us that the Word of God is timeless and authoritative—not just for those in the temple but for us today. Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 point to God's original intent for the temple as a house of prayer, reflecting the reverence we should strive for in our own lives as we seek to honor Him in spirit and truth.

Just as the temple was meant to be a house of prayer, our own souls are meant to be places of worship and connection with God. Yet, like the temple in Jesus's time, we too can become blind to the ways we have allowed corruption to seep in. The wrappers and blemishes of biases, bad habits, unchecked pride, selfish motives, or unkind thoughts can build up over time until our “temples” are no longer pure.

The good news is that Jesus doesn't just expose the corruption, revealing and addressing the disruptions in our hearts—He invites us to restoration. Through self-reflection and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can identify those hidden places where we've fallen short and seek to make them right. It's a continual process of deep cleaning, of bringing our hearts back to God, so they can truly be houses of prayer.

Lord, You are holy and righteous, and Your Word calls us to be the same. We come before You today, seeking Your guidance as we examine our hearts and lives. Show us the places where we’ve grown blind to sin and help us to restore those spaces through Your Holy Spirit. Purify our souls so that they may be true houses of prayer and worship, dedicated to Your glory. Amen.

Blessings,

Pastor Tim