Hallowed Ground

Greetings Dear Reader,

In the gas station bathroom by the condom machine,
I heard the word of the Lord.
He said "Take off your shoes, this is holy ground too,
You know I came for the sick and the bored."
Beneath the selling of beers,
And the welling up of tears,
Out beyond the beam of the remote control,
There's a whispering voice,
That the humble ear hears,
That says "I am still waiting for you to ask just to be made whole." – Waterdeep

I wonder often how a day meant for celebrating the harvest and the providence became an excuse to indulge baser instincts. So many who say they follow Christ seem to hide from the day and treat it as something unholy. I firmly believe that there is no unholy ground and that there are no secular issues.

We live in a world where the noise of battle is a constant. There are no rusty swords. There are no neutral zones or DMZs. I have a dear friend who wears her nonparticipation as a badge. We so often take a fortress mentality in sight of things we see as evil or wrong. The problem is that the love of Christ cannot be bound into a box of any size. It wants to get out and be shared.

It is not my place to judge the actions of others. It is my obligation to love them where they and for who they are. My sin is no less than anyone else’s. I do not have liberty to look at the more “flagrant” sins and call my quiet and personal ones as less unholy. A big part of the race to the bottom is acknowledging, as should every man, that I am chief among sinners.

Once I see that truth, then I will see everyone as better than myself. I see them all as worthy of God’s love and redemption. If God’s blood is shed for me then it is shed for everyone. If God deems me worthy of redemption then so is everyone else. All the noise of our entertainment and endeavors is simply an attempt to become something. Boredom is just as much a sign of our need for Christ as anything else.

When I devalue anything about someone else I am engaging in this foolish practice of making myself better than them. I do plenty to avoid the empty hungry places when they cry out for attention. Getting lost in anything is avoiding the pursuit of Christ. Perhaps the louder distractions are simply a measure of the volume of the pain and loneliness of screamer.

This is All Hallows Eve. Perhaps it is a good day to see that everyone is meant to be set apart, hallowed, for Christ. Even those we see as the very worst are meant to be seen as that which God wishes most to redeem. It is all there for them, just for the asking. I am supposed to create a safe place for them to ask. Everywhere is holy ground. Everything is set apart to belong to God. We are privileged to be included in the process as we struggle through our own journey.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."