high

If you want to communicate well, put a twist on a familiar topic.

At Fuller Theological Seminary, I had the privilege of taking an ethics class taught by Lewis Smedes. I was looking forward to his course because I’d read some of his books (like Forgive and Forget and How Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?) and knew how well he combined intellectual content and emotional depth.

Having been in school for several years, I was accustomed to how most professors taught: focus on the material, handle questions as they pertain only to the course content, and remain a step or two distant from the students.

Not Dr. Smedes. He used lecture notes, but he’d wander off into reveries that captivated our imagination. We sensed his affection for us; this genius of a man didn’t fear our questions or challenges. I felt like I was taking a class with C. S. Lewis!

You can read several quotes by Lewis Smedes online, but one you won’t find is a comment he made one day in the class. I believe it was in a discussion on the subject of prayer when he remarked that he thought of God as below not above. Smedes perceived God as the ground upon which we live.

God below us? Strange way to speak of the Lord, even erroneous? After all, the Bible refers to God as the Most High 24 times.

God rules above us.

“Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars!” – Job 22:12

“The Lord is exalted over all the nations, His glory above the heavens.” – Psalm 113:4

But He also delights to come down to our level.

“For this is what the high and exalted One says–He who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” – Isaiah 57:15

Smedes wasn’t denying the greatness of God; rather, he was emphasizing how drawn the Lord is to those who humble themselves before Him.

His words also evoke imagery of the land–substantial and consecrated. Scripture has a term for this: holy ground.

“There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight–why the bush does not burn up.’ 4When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’ 5‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’” – Exodus 3:2-5

To talk to God, Moses didn’t have to look up; the Lord met him at right where he was and sanctified everything around him. Even the ground.

When you’re standing on holy ground, go barefoot. That’s what God  instructed Moses to do. Forty years later, He told Joshua the same thing.

“The commander of the Lord’s army replied, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so.” – Joshua 5:15

When you meet God and He sets you apart for His service, permit no barrier to separate you from Him. You have no need for shoes to prevent your feet from touching sacred soil. Let your toes dig into the dirt. Stand before the burning bush. Speak and listen.

The burning bush represents Jesus Christ. Two natures: fire and wood, in one bush. Two natures: divine and human in one Person.

To seek God in prayer, look up and sing His praises. But also remember to look down. Christ is with you. And because of Him, you’re standing on holy ground.