Constant noise
I have been to many such cities all over the world, traveling with my husband. From New York to Calcutta, from Mexico City to Cairo, and from Kuala Lumpur to Santiago de Chile.
Change of scenery
In order to escape the chaos we would often enter a church, even at a time when we were not really interested in finding God. The change of scenery and atmosphere when we stepped into a church or cathedral was often dramatic. Just one step would take us from total mayhem to serene silence.
Kingdom atmosphere
I have read somewhere that the architects and builders of many old churches purposely wanted to create a Kingdom atmosphere (in sharp contrast with the world outside) where the peace of God ruled and where beauty and art were the norm. Somewhat like in Biblical times when David wrote:
I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where Your glorious presence dwells.
You can find this in Psalm 26;8. Some translations say: the house, the temple, the dwelling where You live. I don't know what David had in mind, there was no temple at that time. A sanctuary, a tabernacle... it doesn't really matter how we picture it; it is the place where His presence dwells (abides).
Our body, our responsibility
Today I was thinking about how blessed we are to live in a time and era where God's presence is with us, all the time... well, if you believe in Jesus. Our body is a house of God (a temple) where the Holy Spirit lives. We carry Him within, wherever we go (1 Corinthians 6:19). We don't have to wait till Sunday to meet with Him 😁
This privilege gives us responsibility as well. We must take good care of our temple, since we belong to God, no longer to ourselves.
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👉 In my book 'In My Name' I discuss the presence of God in more detail!
Marja: Sometimes, the noise of people gets to me. I have recently found I can mentally call on God to give me the courage and the strength to not react to that obtrusive noise. Peace and blessings to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a world with much noise, I notice that even more when I am in a place where there is silence.
DeleteThank you, Marja, for this blog. I liked that part where you wrote that you entered a church to escape the chaos, even at a time when the two of you weren't really interested in finding God. I relate to that here in the Netherlands sometimes too. When we walk into an ancient church from a busy marketplace, full of people, it's nice and refreshing with such high vaulted ceilings. It feels good and right to get to know the history of such a church. At the same time, I'm glad that God doesn't truly reside there, but within us, if we belong to Christ. Thank you for your practical message about taking good care of our well-being: "taking good care of our temple," as you put it.
ReplyDeleteI'm reflecting on that. Sometimes, it can be a bit of a search to figure out how to do that, now that we're getting older. How to handle certain things.
Thank you so much for your beautiful blog.
Thank you dear Aritha, for your kind words and reflections on my post. I love the atmosphere in old churches and catherdrals as well, and at the same time I am thankful that I do not have to search for God, he found me! And He is always with me and will never leave me or forsake me.
DeleteTaking care of our temple when getting older (I am 60+) is certainly not easy, I struggled with it for years and I still do sometimes, but I do my best to stay in shape :)
Amen! Beautiful post on dwelling in the sanctuary and presence of God. I love all the psalms about that and also that we have become the sanctuary for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us . Agreeing that many more will come into that understanding. Blessings and Shalom from Japan!! ❤️
ReplyDeleteOh, thanks for your visit Shayndel. I love all the psalms that speak about His presence as well, so beautiful to meditate on and pray over.
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