temple of God

I was going over I Corinthians 3:16 today, "Do you not know that you [plural] are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" and thought I'd dig a little more into what it means to be a temple. My study notes led me to Exodus 25:8 which says, "And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst." Aha, another clue. And to this verse the study notes remarked:

"A sanctuary is a “holy place,” which, like the ground at the burning bush, is made holy by the Lord's presence. The presence of the Lord in Israel's midst will be borne out in the arrangement of the camp around the tabernacle."

And it was that first sentence which caught my attention. Hmmm. The Lord's presence is what makes holy ground holy (i.e. the burning bush). It makes perfect sense, of course, and I'm sure I've heard it before, but looking at my life this week it's just good to hear it again. Today is Thursday, and five days into the week with mistakes, lapses, and sins all to my record the hope that anything like holiness can be found in my life feels so dim at times.

But then I look back to God's word, and there it says it right there - God, I'm part of Your people and Your temple, and where You dwell it is holy (Isa 57:15). On our own we're just dust on some mountainside with a bush in the middle, but when You come down to live in us we are changed into holy ground and glow with fire. Oh Lord, how amazing that You use us thus and claim us for Yourself. How worthy You are of praise that You take what is sinful and make it sacred unto You. And how I want for this day to be imbued with the knowledge that no longer am I a temple to sin, or self, or Satan, but because You have chosen to make us your holy place, this day and all others after it... I am Yours.