God said (to Moses), "Take off your sandals because you are standing on holy ground." (Exodus 3: 5)
I learned three big words at catechism when I was growing up:
1. Omnipotent (All Powerful)
2. Omniscient (All Knowing)
3. Omnipresent (Present Everywhere)
These are words to describe the nature and character of God. Our catechism teacher said that these are reasons why we should fear God. God can know your evil thoughts. God can punish you for even thinking bad things. No one can hide from God because God is everywhere. Just with the thought of a God who is like that should set a child in a straight line with fear and trembling.
We know, however, through Scriptures and human experience, that God CAN be intrusive and punitive; but God, in fact, WILL NOT. God allows us to make mistakes from which we suffer bad consequences. Jesus illustrates this in His Parable of the Prodigal Son. God's gift of freedom of the will given to us is God's own self-limitation, a self-imposed limitation because God loves us and wants us to learn and grow.
In faith, we believe that God watches over us, but not as a stalker whose intention is to harm us but to show us by God's Holy Spirit the right and safe way to travel in life. God is everywhere, which makes every inch of ground we walk on a holy ground. Scriptures tell us that one day Moses saw a burning bush but the bush was not consumed. As he drew nearer to the burning bush, he heard God's voice saying, "Moses, Moses, take off your sandals because you are standing on holy ground." Whether we are in church, at home at work, or anywhere else, we are standing on holy ground because God is everywhere and God's holiness prompts us to pay homage by baring not just our feet but our whole life in God's presence.
Blessings,
Pastor Lina | 
