Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground".
Today is about going back to what I know to be basic; the first moments of faith when you hear the Lord call your name.
Moses saw something he didn't understand, coming from a voice he had not known, and instead of turning away he stopped and looked deeply.
And God saw the wonder.
The Lord called out to him by name, "Moses, Moses!" (I dare not miss the meaning of those two side-by-side words).
And what happened next may seem odd to the one-time traveler, because God ceased the wonder in Moses to deal with the necessity of the holy. (It's as if He said, Don't even move towards what is curious to you without first removing what I call unholy).
Why this way? Why use something as insignificant as a sandal? (And maybe more important, who is calling the sandal insignificant?)
God was telling Moses that the place where he was standing was near the very presence of the Almighty, and He would not allow Moses to take even one more step towards Him the way he was.
I can't help but ask myself: How many times do I try to casually move towards the Holy without taking pause?
Did I go to church this week? Check. Did I help my neighbor? Check. Did I listen to a Christian podcast? Check. Did I read my Bible? Check.
I had moments of wonder and curiosity, and maybe I even felt justified in my holiness.
And the bush continues to burn.
The powerful statements of God stand before me, but will I miss them when I stand in what I consider to be enough of the holy?
Maybe the fear of walking towards what I don't understand will stifle my steps, or just maybe, the wonder of the deeper holy will force me to obey.
The fear words will seep in: What if I am burned? What if I have to suffer? What if I fail?
The Lord told Moses to remove his sandals, and so He calls me to loosen the straps of what I thought could protect me so that I can move towards the wonder of the flame.
Hebrews 12 calls me to offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe. Perhaps I need to consider the fact that this acceptable service is much different than the one I've been offering.
Today, the Lord stopped the casual walk to draw me closer to Holy, and like Moses, I choose to move towards the consuming fire with reverence and awe.
Sandals detached.
