God's House
If you could ask for one thing what would it be?
One thing have I asked of the Lord; one thing I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; - Psalm 27:5
We may hear this verse from Psalm 27 at funerals. It is then that we turn our thoughts to death and everlasting life, our hope and salvation.
But while we are living, while the energy and vitality course through our veins and we have no inkling of a change that may be just around the corner, our wishes are quite different.
What came to mind for me when I read this verse was the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Make-a-Wish grants wishes for children between the ages of two and a half and eighteen who have a life-threatening medical condition. And anyone who has a good knowledge of the child's condition can nominate a child for a wish, including the child.
These children are way too young to be facing the possibility of an early death, don't you think? And yet, their situations remind us of our own mortality, and that gives us a chance to make a change.
During this season of Lent, we are invited to make changes, to make our own wish to God, a wish to dwell in His house as long as we are alive.
Why wait, when we can start living in God's house today?
When I was young, I was told the Church was God's house, and I needed to be respectful when I entered it. That left me with a feeling that I was not to do in His house what I did in my parents' house. I could not run around and laugh and scream and tease my sister. In other words, I couldn't have fun.
But God is Love and His house should be a house of love. So, as I ready myself for church this morning, I will think about that and I will look for those smiling children who make the house they visit like their own.
I won't shh them or wag a finger at them. But I will smile and remember how I was at that age.
If we truly want them to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of their lives, maybe we should make them welcome.
Of course, there will always be one who kicks the pew, wriggles away from Mom and Dad and carries on a conversation throughout the service, and that will make me think this one will not be the one who wants to come back.
So, let us all make a wish for the remaining days of our lives. And let that wish be for something that will be truly worth attaining.
What will you wish for?
More to come...