“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”  ~Ephesians 2:19-20 (NKJV)

This passage describes Jesus as the chief cornerstone of His Church, the universal body of believers. Through the blood of Jesus, those “who once were far off have been brought near” (v. 13); both Jew and Gentile can become citizens of the City on a hill.  In Christ, we are being built together to become a holy temple, a dwelling place of the Lord.

I recently read a commentary about the phrase “being fitted together” that is used in this passage. The author depicted a process in Roman construction where slave-laborers would turn huge rocks around until they fit each other perfectly.  For example, columns that appeared to be a single, massive piece of stone were actually separate cylinders that rested upon each other.

When Giles and I visited the Vatican several years ago, we were awestruck by the enormous micro-mosaics that dominated the altars in St. Peter’s Basilica.  These micro-mosaics are reproductions of famous 17th-century paintings that artists painstakingly recreated by fitting together thousands of tiny, multi-colored glass stones (tesserae).  The highly-detailed scenes created by the tiny tesserae are indistinguishable from paintings, even when viewed at a relatively close distance.

In the same way as an architect or artist, God fits together His children to be His dwelling place. Though we appear to be individual pieces, by the Spirit He turns us until we completely and masterfully interlock. The result is astounding and world-changing.

Giles and I have experienced the feeling of “being fitted together” with fellow believers as we share this faith journey that God has placed us on.  We are blessed to be part of a caring and devoted community of believers with whom we have shared our lives throughout the past 10 years.  These friends have walked with us through difficult times and rejoiced with us in happy moments.  We love one another unconditionally.  We are always there for each other, regardless of the season we may find ourselves in. Our community spans different ages, economic classes, professions, and familial situations. (Thankfully) we don’t fit within a single “demographic.”  Rather, we are simply spiritual family in our Father’s household.

Likewise, as we traverse this missionary path to serving the Lord overseas, God has graciously and lovingly placed in our lives new friends and ministry partners.  In many respects, they are dissimilar from us.  Yet they welcome us into their homes, love us unreservedly, and encourage us in word and deed.

We continue to be humbled and awed as God calls forth His people to walk beside us each step of this journey.  They say “yes” wholeheartedly when others say “not now.”  They understand this Kingdom that has come and is coming, and they want to be part of it in any way they can, however it may look from the outside.  And that, above all, is thrilling to us!  It mobilizes us to continue down the path that the Lord has spread out before us.

As the above scripture states, only by the Spirit can we be “fitted together” in this manner.  In these moments of congruity, we glimpse His holy dwelling.