For the first time in several years, a meeting in South Alabama gave me and my wife an opportunity to go to the gulf for a few days of relaxation at the beach. We looked forward to this opportunity for months.
Unfortunately, due to the weather and scheduling, we had not had the opportunity to enjoy the white sandy beaches of Destin until Sunday morning. Selwyn and I went down to the beach early before most anyone was there to spend time worshipping God. We spread our towels on the sand near the surf. And began praising God for what became an amazing hour. We sang and prayed and read scripture and most significantly took in the awesomeness of our creator.
But as we continued to enjoy our exclusive beach communion with our Lord, we began noticing others invading our sanctuary. I’m not talking about those who were sharing our quiet time with the Lord with walks on the beach or frolicking in the surf, but the employees of the elite hotels who were drilling holes in the sand and setting up miles of umbrellas and chairs to market to their guests. It wasn’t but a few minutes until our exposure to the Lord’s grandeur in the sea was walled off by commercialism. We could not even see the surf.
Our sacred sanctuary had been invaded by commercialism.
I think of all the times of sanctuary in our homes, offices, cars, and yards that we invite the invaders in through the TV and radio. Let’s take some time to turn off the commercialism and let the Lord speak into our sanctuary. Let us reclaim the Lord’s sanctuaries in our lives and enjoy His communion.
Tom Reynolds