Seeing Contrast in Sacred Space

We’re nearing the end of A Summer of Sacred Space just one more week to go. You are invited to join us for the last gathering.

We’ve been considering three random chapters a week from the book Sacred Space: A Little Book of Encouragement. There are two opportunities to gather with us.

Tuesday 9 am
and
Wednesday 12 noon

Our final three chapters:
11, 36, 14

This week we found contrast as a common thread in the three devotionals we considered.

Chapter 56: Prayer Changes Me, Not God
Luke 18:1-8
In this passage, Jesus teaches His followers to persevere in prayer by using the example of a widow seeking justice before an unjust municipal judge. Her unrelenting persistence bothered the judge so much he gave her justice just so he wouldn’t have to listen to her anymore. She wore him out.
Jesus specifically says: Listen to what the unjust judge says. In listening to the judge’s irritation, we hear Jesus contrast His Father as the righteous Judge. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay…? I tell you, He will quickly grant justice to them.
The contrast gives us a clear picture. We have a righteous just God who hears us and cares about us. We do NOT have to be relentless in our prayer lives — no need to beg to get Him to act on our behalf. He invites us to come to Him with our heartbreak and trust Him to see to it quickly — in His timing. We will never wear Him out or bother Him with our persistent prayers.
Prayer brings us into the presence of God, and it is there we find relief from our troubles and anxiety.

Chapter 70: Overwhelmed with Worries
Matthew 6:25-34
Jesus teaches His disciples not to worry. God knows our needs. He longs to care for us just as He cares for all the creatures He created. Are you not of more value than the birds of the air?

It is the worldly who chase after and worry about their houses. clothing. next meal. But God says there is more to life than just material and physical needs. There is the whole spiritual realm. His Kingdom is where we find eternal life. The contrast we see is between the seen and unseen. the worldly and the godly. the material and spiritual.
Jesus tells His disciples to first seek God’s Kingdom — seek to live under His rule and reign in our lives — then He will see to all our other needs.
The striving described in this passage is not a physical effort, but a mental one. We are called to reason and meditate on how we can face today’s challenges God’s Way and not the world’s way. God’s rule centers on love, which means trusting Him and seeing to the needs of others before our own, NOT spending all our time and energy thinking about ourselves.
There is relief and freedom found in this contrast. Serving God versus self. He will see to what we need, if we follow His way of life.

Chapter 22: Remember That God Took the Initiative
John 3:16-21
In these verses, we are reminded that God’s love was the motivating factor for Him to enter the dark world with His Light of Truth. Ignorant of our need for salvation, He came uninvited, quietly like a star appearing in the night sky.
But God knew we were in desperate straits. He didn’t send Jesus to condemn us, but to make a way out of the darkness of evil for those who would believe and turn to His Light of truth.
The contrasts of Light and dark. Truth and evil. reveal two different kinds of people. Those seeking truth are drawn to the light. Others not so much.
But the relief is found in His love and mercy. His move into the world to save and not condemn.

The definition of relief not only includes removal of something painful, oppressive, or distressing, but in the world of art it defines a mode of sculpture in which forms and figures are distinguished from a surrounding plane. Elements raised up in contrast causing a sharpness of outline.

Looking over the three chapters for this week we see the contrast of the world versus God’s Kingdom. The difference in perspective and understanding. One rising up above the other. But for those of us still living in the plane of the world, the contrast between seen and unseen challenges us to keep our eyes on God’s Kingdom and not get dragged down in the concerns and unjust nature of the world.

Time in sacred space strengthens our spiritual muscles to persevere.
Persistence in prayer with His Word as our guide grows our confidence in His heart for us.
Persistence in seeking His Way rather than the world’s increases our confidence in Him as our Sustainer.
Persistence in allowing His light to shine in our lives grows our confidence in Him as Truth.

With one more week in A Summer of Sacred Space we hope you are growing in the practice of persistence.

May you be blessed with persistence that grows your confidence in the sustaining truth that it all begins and ends with Jesus.

Stacy & Carol

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Feature Image Photo by John Salvino on Unsplash