Standing on Holy Ground

This morning my mind and heart keep running through a Christian song ‘We Are Standing on Holy Ground’. Yesterday I had to take my shoes off at church to accommodate my back injury or walking and fellowship with others would have been impossible. I had a few people make comments about my bare feet, mostly in a joking manner but they were empathetic when they heard it was because of a bad back. I just told them I was standing on holy ground. This usually brought a chuckle in reply but the thought would not leave me…weren’t we standing on holy ground? Shouldn’t we consider our church property holy ground? Does that mean we should all go barefoot at church? My mind and thoughts evolve quickly. So it was no surprise to me that the song was in the forefront of my mind. I decided to research what scripture had to say about standing on holy ground.

After reading scripture, commentaries of scripture, historical information about practices during religious rituals, etc…I have come to the conclusion that I was much closer to practices of our Jewish forefathers and the early Christians than my fellow church people wearing shoes and boots. It turned out to be interesting reading.

In looking up ‘standing on holy ground’ in scripture, there are only two specific references…Moses’ encounter with the Lord at the burning bush and stories like Stephen’s speech of Moses at the burning bush. I was most touched by one of the commentaries on this scripture. It talked about God using Moses out in the desert to show the people of Israel that the temple or holy land was not the only holy place God inhabited. They jealously guarded and regarded their temple as the only place God would communicate with man. The burning bush experience showed Moses took off his shoes out of respect for the Lord. It concluded saying any place God makes His presence known is holy ground. So, that answers my question about considering our church holy ground. That being the criteria, any place you commune with God is holy ground; your living room, church sanctuary, prayer time, etc. Shoes not required!

Additionally, back in the Temple days, the High Priest were the only ones allowed in the inner sanctums of the temple and had to ritualistically wash their hands and feet before entering…no shoes in the Temple!

Jesus, on the night of the Last Supper, washed the feet of the disciples as an act of servitude and love…no shoes there. The Armor of God tells us to shod our feet with the Gospel of Peace, that is all that is necessary when we are prepared for spiritual battle.

There are many cultures, religious denominations and/or groups that practice leaving your shoes outside the door when entering homes or in places of worship. Even when we were ministering in a remote African village and a few of us ventured out to the hut where their priests and drummers were stirring up the spiritual realm, we were instructed to leave our shoes outside the hut. It appears to be a global sign of respect.

I did not feel self-conscious about being barefooted before my Lord at church. I did not feel uncomfortable about the people and their opinions, either spoken or unspoken. I felt humbled standing before the Lord and in my weakened injured state felt this was the best place to be. I know there is a mentality out here that you wear your Sunday best to church but I’ve never felt that was a God thing. Our clothes neither make us more connected to God or less connected to God. Coming before Him with a bare naked heart and transparent soul is where our priorities should be in my estimation. I give Him my worship, my service and my time every day; not just on Sundays. As I write this I am in my jammies, barefooted and full of love for Him.

Let’s not forget that our bodies are His temple! My naked feet are a part of that temple. I am to care for His temple as long as I inhabit it. I do not allow graffiti on it, I do not put harmful substances in it and I keep it clean and as free from disease as possible. Yes, my humble opinion is that shoes are optional. As long as my feet are willing to go where He leads me, I do not think He cares what is on them.

We are standing on holy ground
For I know that there are angels all around
Let us praise Jesus now
For we are standing in His presence on holy ground