Day 10: Better is One Day

Better is One Day has been one of my favorite praise songs to sing in church.  Right from the opening line, it is a beautiful illustration of how incomparable one moment in the presence of God is, with any number of moments outside of His presence.
The opening line says this:
How lovely is your dwelling place, oh Lord Almighty.
When I sing the words "dwelling place," I replace them with the word "home" in my head.  I believe that God lives in His home, which He has also prepared to be a home for us.  I have been thinking about my own home lately - the four walls as well as the people that live there. 
My house back in Milwaukee has mostly wood floors.  When you walk in our front door there are two mats set next to each other.  It is a rule in our house that you have to take off your shoes before entering.  This is so we don't track in snow, salt, dirt or anything else.  All my friends in high school new this rule about my house, and I would always watch them come in and very carefully go through the thought process of take off the shoes, put them on the mat, then come inside.
Removing the shoes helps to keep our wooden floors clean at home, but there is also another reason that I take my shoes off when I am at home.  If you have ever tried to sit on a couch - curl up in a ball, snuggle up with some blankets - while wearing your shoes, it is somewhat uncomfortable.  And when  you walk around with your shoes on at home, it always feels like you are going to be leaving again.  Taking off your shoes is an unspoken symbol that you are home, and that you are going to stay a while.
This makes me think about Moses and his sandals.  When he comes into God's presence as God presents Himself as a burning bush, God tells him "Moses, take off your shoes, for you are standing on holy ground."  I think what God is also saying to Moses is this - Moses, you are home, take off your shoes and stay a while in my presence.

 

We are at home in God's dwelling place.  His home is our home, and He has made it so we will find comfort and rest there.  He wants us to take off our shoes and stay a while.
Another line from the song says this:
One thing I ask
And I would seek,
To see Your beauty
To find You in
The place Your glory dwells
The place where His glory dwells is truly the Kingdom of Heaven.  The amazing thing is that God has allowed us glimpses of that kingdom here on earth.  If we look, and if we seek Him, we will find that His glory dwells in the homes we share with our families and others here on earth.  
~SP