HOLY GROUND
After fleeing from Egypt because he killed an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite, Moses went into the land of Midian, and there kept the flocks of Jethro. While leading the flock to the backside of the desert, he was drawn to an incredible sight: a bush that burned with fire, and yet was not consumed. Moses said to himself, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” (Exodus 3:3). When the Lord saw that Moses turned aside to see, the Lord spoke to him from the bush and instructed him not to approach until he had removed his shoes, for he was standing on holy ground. After Moses met God there, he was prepared to return to Egypt and loose the Israelites from the bondage that they suffered under Pharaoh.
There is a basic lesson to our whole
relationship with God revealed in this simple account. It speaks to the very essence of Christianity
and reveals the true nature of the Christian walk. By embracing the truth found here we, too,
will find ourselves transported to this “holy
ground” of which God speaks.
The most significant thing about this
burning bush was this: though it was engulfed in flames, yet it was not burned
up or consumed. This was the thing that
caused Moses to turn aside, and it wasn’t until he turned aside that God spoke
to Him. This burning bush is really a
picture – an analogy – of the normal Christian life. Christians often pass through fiery trials of
their faith; and, yet, their faith sustains them, and they are not
consumed. This is the thing that will
cause someone to turn aside from his own daily difficulties to see what makes
the Christian different and keeps him from being depressed, beaten down,
discouraged, bitter – consumed! Once God sees that he has turned aside,
that’s when He can speak to him. God’s
dealing with us as humans can only begin when we are willing to turn aside from
our own life and our own ways. Then He
is able to speak His will to us and direct our ways.
I would submit, also, that the bush was being consumed, but that it was
being replenished at the same rate that it was consumed! As we approach the presence of Almighty God,
and He reveals Himself to us, He burns a portion of our carnal nature away, but
replaces it with just that much of His own nature. As the Apostle Paul describes it, we are, “Always bearing about in the body the dying
of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
body.” Simply put, we become more like Jesus as we
give up those things in our lives that are unlike Him. This is, after all, what Christianity is all
about: becoming like Christ and being transformed into His image.
John the Baptist, speaking of Jesus, said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” This should describe every Christian. We must be willing to submit our will and our
ways to the Father. Our ways are not His
ways, and our thoughts are not His thoughts.
Jesus said that we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow
Him if we are to be disciples. We cannot
do this by ourselves – we need His grace and strength. We need Him to fill us and renew us by His
Spirit as we allow Him to burn away the dross and the imperfections in our
life. Then, and only then, can we stand
on this holy ground to which He has called us.
God is a consuming fire, and John also warned
us that He would baptize us with His Holy Spirit and with fire in order to
purge the chaff in our lives from the precious wheat. We cannot live for God unless we are
willing to die to ourselves. It is
like a set of scales with Christ on one side and my carnal nature on the
other. The more that my carnal nature is
in control of my life, the less that Christ will be evident. The more Christ is in control, the less of me
there will be. If that sounds foreign,
or self-destructive to you, then perhaps it is time to examine the faith that
you say that you stand in. You must turn
aside from what you are doing to hear the voice of God. Then, and only then, can you step onto this
holy ground where He can instruct you, and lead you by His Holy Spirit. It is then, too, that He can use you to set
the captives free.
Francis Chan illustrates this concept in
this way: imagine you are driving in your car and you see Jesus by the side of
the road wanting a ride. You stop the
car, invite Him in, and place Him in the trunk.
You don’t want Him to drive, or even sit in the front where you can
converse with Him. No, you just want Him
in case of an emergency that you can’t handle – like the spare tire or the
jack. It isn’t much better to place Him
in the back seat, or even the passenger seat.
You’re still driving and in control!
You are still going to go where you want, and do as you please. God is asking us to relinquish control of our
lives altogether and let Him drive. When
Jesus called His disciples, He asked them to follow Him, not if He could walk
with them wherever they chose to
go. The holy ground that God is calling
us to is a place where we remove our shoes and learn to walk carefully,
delicately, gingerly, prudently, and warily before the God of the universe.
When we place our lives on the altar for
God and become a living sacrifice, determined to do His will, His fire will then
fall from heaven to consume that which we have offered; and we will say with
Elijah the Prophet, “. . .the God that
answereth by fire, let Him be God.”
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