Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 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. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When 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 3:1-5 (NIV)
Repurposing of items has become a true decorator’s unique talent. If you watch HGTV, many of the shows which involve an aspect of interior design feature at least some amount of repurposing. There even was a television show, Flea Market Flip, which features two teams who are given money, three projects and an hour to shop. The teams repurpose their purchases before bringing them to a flea market to sell. The team which achieves the largest profit is the winner. Taking something and changing it for a different use is creative. This may be done for economical reasons or to achieve a certain goal.
The Lord repurposes items regularly. Jesus takes bread and wine from the Passover meal and repurposes them to assist believers in remembering the giving of his body and blood. In the passage for today, God repurposes two items, a bush and the ground around the bush. God uses the bush to get Mose’s attention and for a communication tool. The ground is used to raise the significance of the words God would share with Moses. By transforming the ordinary, a holiness becomes attached to the items. The unique presence of the Lord at these times is what causes the ordinary to become holy.
This continues even today. A Bible is just a book with pages and words until we invoke the presence of the Spirit into our reading of it, then it becomes Holy. The elements of bread and drink are ordinary food items until we request the presence of the Lord at the table and then they become a Holy remembrance. The water is an element which comes from a sink tap until we seek the Lord’s blessing on it and then it becomes a symbol of sins washed away and a seal of acceptance into the family of the Lord. The place where we sit or stand is like any other until we acknowledge the Lord being present then it becomes a Holy place of retreat, learning and rest. The Lord can also repurpose our work and make it Holy work.
Look for God’s repurposing in your life. Then take off your shoes because you are standing on Holy ground.
A Faith Understanding 