"Don't you yourselves know that you are God's sanctuary?" - 1 Cor 3:16 (MSG)
Take a moment to appreciate the true beauty of this verse. Allow it to sink into and take up a permanent space in your heart. This verse changed how I believe God looks at us. Let me break it up for you:
Firstly, we have to understand what a sanctuary is. A sanctuary is a place of the living; a sanctuary functions in light. A sanctuary is a place where we eagerly desire to be; a sanctuary is the place where our hearts are. A sanctuary is a place set apart from the profane, ordinary world. A sanctuary is a place where you can truly relax and be at ease, a calm and clutter-free space. A sanctuary is a place of high value. A sanctuary is a place wherein you can rescue individuals and ultimately change the world.
How absolutely mind-blowing that God, the most perfect God, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the God that created Heaven and Earth, the God that named each and every star, that same God sees you and me as a sanctuary.
To God, we are a place of the living. To God, we function in light. To God, we are the place where He eagerly desires to be; the place where His heart is. To God, we are set apart from this profane and ordinary world. To God, He is completely at ease within us, to Him we are clutter-free, no matter how much baggage we still carry around with us. To God, we are of high value. To God, we have it within us to rescue individuals and ultimately change the world.
Let this revelation sink in, give it a few hours or a few days to truly touch and set up camp in your soul; then come back to this post and read it again and again, read it as many times as you have to.
I pray the Holy Spirit leads you back to this post every time you start to wonder how our wonderful Father sees and feels about you. I pray you always know and feel that He is for you and not against you and that He has called you to rescue individuals and ultimately change the world.