Earth is crammed with Heaven, And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit 'round it and pluck blackberries... - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (Ex. 3:1-6)
These verses tell us some inportant things about responding to God's glory.
1. We must turn aside to look. Moses was busy about his work as a shepherd. He had to stop what he was doing, notice the bush and investigate it to hear from God. One of the questions we answered today was what keeps us from putting everything else aside so we can focus on God. For me, it's being busy and being tired. Both of those keep me from being able to stop, take notice, and listen.
2. We must confess our own unworthiness. Notice that although God welcomed Moses into His presence, it was with limitation! He had to stop (and not come closer) and take off His shoes because he was on holy ground. I think one of the detriments of the casualness with which we have come to approach God is that we forget the holiness of the places where we encounter Him. Now I don't mean literally ... and although I'd be all for it, I'm pretty sure the church is not asking us to leave our shoes at the door. But I think figuratively, we've forgotten that being invited into God's presence is more like being invited into the presence of the President or the King ... someone we would regard with respect and dignity. Maybe even the practice of removing our shoes as we come to sit with God will be a tangible reminder that we have entered holy space. Think I might try that.
3. We must remember to fear God. Moses covered his face ... and likewise, we need to remember to approach God with reverence for who He is and with respect for His power. Maybe its rehearsing His character or preparing our hearts with His words. But somehow we've got to remember the ONLY thing that makes us able to stand in His presence is HIS grace!
So, approaching God with the respect and attention He desires, deserves and demands refocuses our hearts ... from our own busyness and distractions ... from our preoccupation with ourselves and others. I'd much rather take off my shoes and enter His presence than sit around plucking blackberries ...
Thank You, God,
For Your hand that reaches to me,
Touching my arm, tapping my shoulder,
telling me to pause and to look and to listen
at all the windows of the soul.
Help me to see something in those windows,
something of heaven in every earthly event,
something of the divine spark in every human soul.
Please, dear God, give me the grace to stand, shoes in hand,
before all that in some way bears Your glory,
for I don't want to spend my days
just sitting around
plucking blackberries...
~Ken Gire in Windows of the Soul
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