Let the height of the National Cathedral touch the sky, its width be as wide as the ocean and its structures coated with gold and precious minerals, yet, it is not what God desires.

An incident happened during the time of Prophet Samuel in his pursuit to anoint a king for Israel. There stood before him men of valor with all the physical stature of a king in the house of Jesse.

He became convinced in his heart that he would find the right man among these men to lead the people of Israel. To his surprise, God rejected all except the youngest, who was in the field watching over his father’s flock.

There, God revealed his dealing with humanity, that, he was never after physical appearance, but rather the heart.

The whole book of the Bible speaks of what God desires from us. He desires not our time, money, buildings, structures, and resources; but rather, our hearts. This is what he had been searching from us since the beginning of time. It was this reason he made the unfathomable sacrifice at Calvary.

Whatever we do in the name of God had no meaning to him if our hearts are far away from him. The National Cathedral, therefore, will hold no meaning in the sight of God if the hearts of leaders of this country and its citizens are far away from God.

Gone were the days where Cathedral represented the magnificent glory and presence of God. In it was the Ark of Covenant, a symbol of God’s presence, where people offered sacrifices and offerings for forgiveness and favors from God.

Many people traveled distance to have an experience with God and made petitions to him for mercy and favor. That was indeed a shadow of God’s glorious plan for humanity.

His perfect plan was to move his habitation from structures built by men to the hearts of men (Acts 17:24; Ephesians 3:17; 1 John 4:13; Romans 8:9-11).

Jesus Christ, in his encounter with the Samaritan woman, told her in John 4:21,23-24; “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

The status quo had changed! It is not the structure nor the nice edifice that carries the presence of God; rather it is the human’s heart. The heart is the indwelling of the presence, power and Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). It is the Cathedral God had been seeking and searching for ages. The heart carries God’s presence.

The size of a cathedral nor the beauty of the cathedral has nothing to do with the speed at which God answers prayers. The heart makes the difference and if we can do something to make this nation great and strong, then, there is the need to turn people’s hearts towards God and make it the God’s cathedral.

I have heard analysis revealing the benefits this country will accrue from the National Cathedral. Some say it will be a source of unification for all the Christian denominations in this country. Others say, it will generate huge revenue for this country; others believe God will heal this nation through the Cathedral.

This is my take; none of these benefits can surpass the impact this country will accrue if we develop our hearts to be God’s cathedral.

A heart of God’s cathedral does three powerful things; first, live his/her life for God’s glory and not for man’s glory. Second, such heart values love for God and humanity above his or her power, achievement, position, desires and needs.

Third, such heart believes in eternal life, as the greatest reward and achievement one can ever desire for his or her life.

There is no way poverty, corruption and economic hardship can swallow us if we make our hearts the cathedral of God. Our solution is in building hearts to be the cathedral of God.

As the country desires to build a national cathedral, let us remind ourselves, the human’s heart is the cathedral that God desires.

My prayer is that this National Cathedral will be a place that will genuinely turn the hearts of all who enter into a glorious cathedral of God.