Holy Ground

Genesis 2:7 (The Message)
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

5-7 At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground—God hadn't yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)—God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!

"Holy Ground," that's what we are. God made man from the ground; formed him and breathed into him a soul; "Holy Ground."

When I consider that, I want to learn to tread more carefully than I do on people's hearts; with greater gentleness, awe and reverence at what God has made.

We humans have a proclivity for judging others. I think that may have been what was meant by the original temptation of the serpent in the garden; that we "would be just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil." That right; the right to judge, is God's prerogative alone, for he alone knows everything; all of a man's days, his heart, his hurts and anxieties. We are safe in his hands.

I want to have a childlike heart, a heart without judgment; to understand what real acceptance of people is; to stop trying to "explain" others and learn to listen better as they explain themselves - if they choose to do so.

Dear Lord, please forgive me for daring to form judgments. I want to love as you love, for that you have told us to do.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (New Living Translation)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
12And may the Lord make your love grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our love overflows toward you. 13As a result, Christ will make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy when you stand before God our Father on that day when our Lord Jesus comes with all those who belong to him.

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