Living God
"Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you." (Joshua 3:9,10 NIV)
I remember a tour guide on a historic house tour explaining that the term "living room" came about after World War I. Prior to that, the space was referred to as a parlor. But when, at the end of the war, influenza swept the globe, causing millions of people to lose their lives, the parlor was more often used for the keeping of bodies for mourning prior to a funeral. Thus, the room thus gained the doleful designation of "Death Room."
After the influenza epidemic passed, the Ladies Home Journal suggested that the room be renamed to convey its intended purpose, and the "living room" was born. In stark contrast to the grief and mourning of "Death Room," the living room was a place for life to be lived..
After the influenza epidemic passed, the Ladies Home Journal suggested that the room be renamed to convey its intended purpose, and the "living room" was born. In stark contrast to the grief and mourning of "Death Room," the living room was a place for life to be lived..
The Living God whose presence Joshua boldly declared stood in stunning contrast to the many false gods the ancients would have known well. Here was a God who actually showed Himself and who acted on behalf of people He loved. This one, true God's "living" was an ongoing state of existence, too, and one He could and did prove. No wonder the Psalmist spoke of Him with longing:
* "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (Psalm 42:2)
* "My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." (Psalm 84:2)
There surely is a time and place for mourning, and I believe many of us are grieving someone or something: the loss of a loved one to death; the loss of someone still alive but no longer connected to us; the loss of what we thought our lives would look like in a certain season. Or perhaps we are grieving the struggle someone we love is going through. This grief cannot and should not be gone around, only through, for it honors love.
But if you're feeling a thirsty longing today, maybe this is a good time to spend a few moments in the living room, in the courts of the Living God.
"My heart and flesh cry out
For You, the Living God,
Your Spirit's water for my soul.
I've tasted and I've seen,
Come once again to me,
I will draw near to You,
I will draw near to You."
("Better Is One Day;" Matt Redman; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4Fj9bbEmVk.)
There surely is a time and place for mourning, and I believe many of us are grieving someone or something: the loss of a loved one to death; the loss of someone still alive but no longer connected to us; the loss of what we thought our lives would look like in a certain season. Or perhaps we are grieving the struggle someone we love is going through. This grief cannot and should not be gone around, only through, for it honors love.
But if you're feeling a thirsty longing today, maybe this is a good time to spend a few moments in the living room, in the courts of the Living God.
"My heart and flesh cry out
For You, the Living God,
Your Spirit's water for my soul.
I've tasted and I've seen,
Come once again to me,
I will draw near to You,
I will draw near to You."
("Better Is One Day;" Matt Redman; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4Fj9bbEmVk.)
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!