A Holy Land?
 By Philippa Kerr
No, not the one in the Middle East, much nearer to home than that! I’m talking about the land your feet and mine are standing on today.
(Assuming you are a Christian), do you know that you are a temple, a holy place, in which the Spirit of God lives? [i] Do you welcome ‘pilgrims’ and turn the lights on for them? [ii] Do you live in the knowledge that the experience of being with you (even for a few minutes) can alter someone’s life forever?
No, nor do I most of the time – but we should because God says it’s true (references at the end).
- Are you a good person? No? Wonderful!
- Are you a wise/clever/assertive person? No? Fantastic!
- Do you have influence/power/high-profile networks? No? Better and better!
- Do you have a lot to give? No? That’s ok, there’s probably more than you think.
- Have you converted anyone recently (or ever!!)? No? Don’t lose heart.
Today, you and I get the chance to meet all sorts of people – I wonder how many in any given day? Do we know what they need or have to give? No, not a chance, we can’t even begin to guess the complexities of peoples’ lives. In the last few years I’ve met:
- A judge who is seeking forgiveness
- An abused woman radiating grace.
- A blind woman with amazing ‘vision’
- A church leader with ‘inner demons’
- An immigrant woman who is against immigration
- A mental-health worker who despairs
- A dying person whose whole being speaks life.
- I could go on……….
My point is that where you and I are and what we are doing, matters, it matters a lot – but we don’t always (or ever) know what it is we are giving or what others need. We often over-complicate things and conclude we’re useless. I don’t care (and more importantly God doesn’t either!) whether you clean loos or have a chain of office round your neck. It isn’t more holy or admirable that you teach in Sunday school (or from the pulpit for that matter), or as a classroom assistant all week, every week of the school term.
What matters is that we see the whole of our life as ground for God to grow things in and keep the ‘weeds’ out (with His help), so that He can do fruitful things with it.
What’s wonderful is that (just like in the feeding of the 5000) – He can take our miserable sandwich and make a feast out of it – with left-overs too!
Feast on some of these Biblical snippets with me now and let’s offer ourselves afresh, to be of fruitful value in the Kingdom, on every day of the week and in every part of our lives.
‘No-one is good – except God alone’. [iii]
‘If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight’. [iv]
‘He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble’. [v]
‘He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others”.’ [vi]
‘I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.’ [vii]
[iv] 1 Corinthians 3:18,19
[vii] 1 Corinthians 3:6,7
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