One of the most dreaded phrases in the English language is this—“some assembly required”. Those words strike fear in the hearts of people who are not at all handy at putting things together.

Have you ever worked late into the night on Christmas Eve trying to put together a gift for your child? You thought that the assembly would be simple. After all, it came with easy-to-understand instructions. But it turned out to be more of a job than you ever imagined.

Some of us would rather not think about that phrase, “some assembly required”, but those words have something to say about the way God interacts with the human race.

Some assembly was required for God to create the world. Through Jesus, God spoke the word and, out of nothing, the universe was brought into existence.

Then God made us in his image. Some assembly was required for that. God made Adam from the dust of the earth and Eve from a rib taken from Adam. As for the rest of us, Psalm 139:13 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Some assembly was required for human beings to exist.

Then Adam and Eve messed it all up. We mustn’t be too hard on them. If they hadn’t have done it, we surely would have. Mankind’s sin caused the world to be cursed and broken. It needed to be put back together again. Some assembly was required.

So God put together the nation of Israel and set them aside to be his people. He molded them and taught them that they should expect a Messiah, one sent from God who would save the people from their sins. This Messiah would fix things.

And he did. Jesus came into the world and died on a cross to pay the price for the sins of all people. All those who trust in the crucified and resurrected Jesus for their salvation are brought together to form his church. He assembles us to be his people and to do his will in this world.

Now some assembly is required on our part, as we meet to worship together every first day of the week (Acts 20:7). We are not to neglect the assembly, and God warns us that harsh punishment awaits those who forsake the assembly (Heb.10:25-31).

For those who hold onto their faith in Jesus and remain a part of his church, there is one more assembly to consider—when we all are gathered together to live with Jesus in eternity. 1 Thess.4:16-18 says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

What encouraging words these are! This world, with all of its pain and suffering, is not our final destination. Jesus will assemble all of his people to live with him in eternity. May we live faithfully for him as we await for his return.