Those who remembered the glory of the past temple could clearly see that this one paled in comparison.  They assumed its future would be insignificant because it lacked in the wonder and wealth of the past.  While it is true the splendour wasn’t anywhere near the same standard, they did not realise that that is not how God measures worth.  In verse 9 God reveals the truth it is not about how it used to be, but its future success lies in the fact that the glory of God will fill it in an even greater way than former days.

We need to remember this promise in the church.  The reward for faithful service is not a bigger church building, a growth in numbers or how many activities happen on a weekly basis, although these things are not bad. It is not about how many people attend or how many staff are employed and definitely not how much money it brings in.  God’s reward for his people and his church is his presence with us.   Intimacy with God should be our aim and reward everything else should stem from that. It is the presence of God that changes lives, heals the sick, restores the broken, and sets us free. It has nothing to do with the building we meet in.

So often in the church we measure success by the amount of people that turn up, the type of building we have or how many programmes we operate.  When we do not measure up to our own standards we often get discouraged.  God’s desire for his church is that he is present and his glory is known.