The Holy Place

There was a time when it seemed that the sanctuary and the ground upon which it stood was ground that was distinctively holy ground.  It was ground and space set apart for the sacred work of God.  Whatever happened in and on that place should somehow be done to bring glory to God and further the mission of His Son upon the earth.   What further underscored this perception were the prayers and acts of dedication which preceded the creation of the church space.

 

In these years when life is not quite as centered around the physical entity known as the church, it seems more likely that the church is but one holy place in the world and that every time we put our foot on the ground of the earth we are in fact walking on holy ground.  It is ground which bears the mark of the Creator God.  It is ground that was brought into being by Him and ground which belongs to Him.  What is holy is not just the space we make holy through our prayers, but all the creation.  Every part of it is holy, not because of our prayers and rituals, but because it belongs to Him.

 

This new view of the world has not changed my view of the church nearly as much as it has changed my view of the earth that is all around me.  While the church continues to be a sanctuary in the midst of a secular society, the earth is a great cathedral which stretches from one horizon to another and has within it everything and everyone brought into creation by the Creator.  The holy place is no longer confined to a building, but is a small part of a holy creation.  The church's mission and the creation are in some ways one in the same.  They both are to here to glorify God.