Exodus 20:25 English Standard Version (ESV) If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.

We are always trying to make things fit. We are always trying to make sure that what we build will last. Here in Exodus 20:25 we find once again that all important word if. In the original Hebrew the word if does not appear. There instructions were in reference to the sacrificial alter upon which their offerings were to be made.

Exodus 20:24 English Standard Version (ESV) An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.

They were to make an altar of earth. The construction material was not specified. If is only indicative of the possibility for the choice of using stone. The materials used in construction could have been any material. The issue of the structure was not meant to overshadow the sacrifice. Raw material was to be used and it was not meant to be ornamental.

Now here is the real issue and it escapes many of us in looking to construct a place of sacrifice, it is that last sentence. “In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.” Cathedrals don’t have the capacity to remember.

Romans 12:1 English Standard Version (ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

1 Corinthians 6:19 English Standard Version (ESV) Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

We are that altar of sacrifice.

1 Corinthians 1:26 English Standard Version (ESV) For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 

Do you know your calling?

That is a tough one for those of us who are new in the Lord. We are not the “old man” any longer and there is an unsteadiness as we try and navigate this new life in Christ. Our previous life was full of goals, wants and plans toward a future we tried to control. What we wanted from life mattered.

Being born again into the kingdom of God is a whole different matter. God has plans and directs your paths to an uncertain future. The older we are when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior makes the issues of beginning again more difficult. We have worldly eyes and ears and our spiritual eyes and ears have not yet come into focus.

The key to finding your calling is in the relationship with the One who has called you. Be faithful in reading His Word and do not worry so much about your future. Concentrate on the relationship and those spiritual eyes and ears will begin to open up your spiritual understanding. You will begin to see the world for what it is and the kingdom of God will come into focus.

Expect missteps. A stumble does not mean you are not heading in the right direction. It just means you haven’t found your footing yet. If you are headed in the wrong direct your relationship will provide the answer to course corrections. Sometimes a stumble is just us trying to run rather than walk.

When the light of your spiritual dawn comes, you do not have to run to the light. The dawn will come to you.