“Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”” – Exodus 3:5

Scripture reading: Exodus 3:1-10 

These commands refer to “holy ground.” This area had become the house of God, His sanctuary, because He was dwelling there. In this sanctuary, God had made ground that was unclean, clean. God had cursed the ground in Genesis 3:17. In this event, however, God overcomes the curse by His very holiness. He can sanctify what would otherwise be perverse. Moses was called to respect that restored sanctity.

Such a sense of sanctity and godly respect are to extend to farther ends for the followers of Christ today, where “holy ground” is found wherever God’s Spirit-inhabited people worship and work; both are realms of holy endeavour. As temples of God’s Spirit, our bodies are to be respected in a stewardly and chaste way as well. In all places and things, God’s people are called to godly respect for Christ’s sake—a respect that goes lacking in much of our world today. We are called to respect what God has given us to use for His glory. We are called to respect authority for the sake of Christ Who endows it. We are to respect the time that we have been given and to approach all our callings as holy and pleasing to God, which is our spiritual worship. As we live reverentially, we do so, anticipating the return of Christ, Who will make all things new and holy unprecedentedly.

“Respect My holiness,” says the Lord, “wherever you go, and certainly whenever you gather to worship to hear My Word.”

Suggestions for prayer

Thank the Lord for the various ways in which you can carry out holy endeavours in His name and thank the Lord for His Spirit’s presence in your life that allows such holy endeavours to take place.

Rev. John Vermeer is the pastor of Doon United Reformed Church in Doon, Iowa.