Debra Reeves
By Debra Kay Reeves
January 24, 2002
To many, the church is the building where we meet to hear the word of God. We go to share our lives with other believers. We go to enjoy fellowship. We go for a touch from God. We go because He told us to go in His word.
Throughout the ages we have mostly assembled in a building. There were and still are times where the gathering of believers happens outdoors or somewhere other than a building. But as time passes we continue to gather.
In my own walk I have questioned as to what my role is in the church. Why have I gone year after year? Time after time. Always listening for the voice of the Lord to tell me where I fit in to this plan of His. I have watched others serve in the church as pastors, teachers, leaders, musicians, worship leaders, Sunday school teachers. Those with words of wisdom. Those with songs of praise. And each time I watch and wonder, "What am I suppose to be doing?" Silence from the Almighty.
But now for the past couple of months a thought has been forming in my heart, my soul, and my mind. Just as the parables tell us a story with a particular point the Lord wants to make, this revelation in my mind comes through little by little.
Year after year I have heard the scripture and the teachers say that we, the people, are the church. That I understand and I believe. We are the vessels the Lord pours out His Holy Spirit upon. We are the branches while He is the vine. We are His children. We are His church.
Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our building, our church. As each joint supplies in a body so does each part of the building. In my thoughts, I envision a beautiful cathedral. Strong and glorious, sitting on the top of the hill for all to see. The cornerstone is the strongest point of the entire building and the weight of the building stands because of that one powerful stone. But upon that stone is the rest of the building.
There are powerful pillars that hold up the entrance to the building. There is a mighty door with a gleaming doorknob inviting to the eye. There are beautiful, ornate windows that allow the light to warm the inside. When you look you see all of the parts that make up the building. The roof with its tiles laid out in a fantastic pattern. The chimney rising out of the roof, strong and straight to guide the smoke from the inside of the building. The eves that allow the rainwaters to run like rivers off the roof. The sills under the windows. The ornamentation around the doors, the windows, the peaks of the rooflines. So many beautiful pieces that make up this glorious building, this church.
I am not a pillar. I am not a door or a window. I do not see myself as any piece of the outward part of this building. So I continued to ask, "Where do I fit in Lord? What part of the building am I?"
Finally after pondering this for quite sometime He has seen fit to reveal to me the answers to my questions. He has me stand before the building, looking at the beauty and the tasks performed by other parts of the building. Then He tells me to look down, near the cornerstone. As I look I see small, little bricks piled one on top of the other. As I stand back and continue to look, more and more of the bricks catch my eye. They are lined up one after another around the cornerstone, up the wall, around the doors, around the windows, up to the roof. They hold up the weight of the roof. They keep the doors and the windows in place and support the opening and closing. They are what the ornamentation is attached to. There are millions of bricks that make up the structure of the building before me. I stand in awe at the thought before me. There are millions upon millions of bricks. Alone they actually serve no purpose but together they form an entire building.
As my mind and spirit comprehend what the Lord is telling me I feel His hand gently guide me to look one more time down where the cornerstone sits at the base of the building. There upon the cornerstone is a brick that He points to. "This, my child, is you," He says with a twinkle in His eye, "You are just a brick."
