I spent about an hour wandering around Westminster Abbey in Central London yesterday. I knew that it was the burial place of many famous people, but it didn’t really set in until I found myself in the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots.
There’s something surreal about standing in a place where someone you’ve studied throughout school is buried. As I walked from tomb to tomb, from Henry VII to Edward II and Richard II, I thought about all the histories I learned in school, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many of those famous people had lived accumulating wealth and power and status only to lose it when they lost their lives.
And all I could think about was how thankful I am that God doesn’t live in a stone, cold church somewhere, entombed like the historical figures of ages past. God is alive today and moving in hearts and changing people and the world.
A tomb in Carlisle, Cathedral
Today’s verse is 1 John 4:13.
And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.
God is alive, and He’s everywhere. He’s in our lives. He’s in our homes. He’s in our churches. Whether we recognize it or not. But He also lives in the hearts of those who’ve chosen to follow Jesus.
We build great monuments to honor Him, and that’s great. But He doesn’t live there. He lives in us.
Great men and women from history have died. Famous historical figures have passed away. All the people we know and admire in today’s world will eventually die too. But God will never die. He never changes. And He never fails.
So remember that the next time you’re in a cemetery. Remember that the next time you’re in a church. Remember that the next time someone you admire passes.
We may honor the Lord with our buildings, but don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that He’s buried there. He was buried, but He walked out of the grave three days later. And He’s still alive today.
Always Peachy 