Old
“‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’” (Exodus 3:5).
The other day my father needed to spend some time in hospital. Thank God there was nothing seriously wrong with him, but while he was there, I spent a little time with him and my mother waiting for his condition to improve.
I have been thinking quite a lot about that day over the last few weeks.
There was a time when I could not remember my father ever being sick. He was a strong man who worked a lot and spent a lot of time trying his best to provide for his growing family. He would rarely get sick – though when he did, he tended to get very sick with a bad flu.
This makes it particularly difficult to face the reality of growing old, because I can see the weakness in us human beings since we grow old.
You see, a soul and body are connected. On this Earth we cannot have one without the other. And this is why we are asked to take care of our bodies. We are asked to treat our own bodies well. This is one of the reasons that sins of the flesh – like lust and gluttony – are terrible sins. Because when we commit these sins, we are disrespecting this body that we have been given by God.
Now, this is a problem because this body is the home of our spiritual soul, while we are on the Earth. Accordingly, if we disrespect our body or the body of someone else, then what we are really doing is disrespecting the connected soul. And this is problematic because the soul is the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
When Moses stood on Mount Sinai to receive the message of God from God Himself, the first thing that God said to Him was to remove his sandals because he stood on holy ground…
“‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’” (Exodus 3:5).
And yet, there is holy ground inside every one of us. There is Holy Ground inside me and inside you too because the Holy Spirit in our soul...
And this is significant because when we interact with each other, we are not only interacting with one human soul or another, we are interacting with God Himself. And this means that the offences that we cause to God through our interactions with each other are so dreadful. Because there is God tied to the soul that is tied to the body. And He holds Himself there through love. He does not complain. He does not strike us dead. He does not end the world for all the offences caused. Rather, He holds Himself firmly to that soul and He endures the terrible anguish of that great offence – for even the smallest sin is enough to damn a soul and enough for Christ to be crucified as our Saviour. Every single small sin is a reminder of the sacrifice of the Most Perfect God…
And I have been reflecting on that today as we all grow old, because this soul of mine is tied to my body here on Earth, but in Heaven, I have only my soul and the Living Holy Spirit will have witness to all its sins during my time on Earth…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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