Where do we find God/Where does God find us?

Some people want to say that God can only be found in the words written on the pages of a bound Bible - that a Christian's "faithfulness" can be measured by how quickly they open the weathered pages of the book. (After all they must be weathered if they're faithful, right?)

A bound book of paper and glue isn't the only way to discover or dwell in the Word of God.

We are called to be living sanctuaries for God. 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NRSV) reminds us, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" 

What does it mean to be a living sanctuary? It isn't a call to shut out the world. It is a call to open myself to God,  in whom we live and move and have our being.(Act 17:28, NRSV)

The Word of God lives in our prayer and reflection, both alone and in community. And the tools we have today make it possible to access God's Word in Scripture through digital media and open ourselves to the sacred in more ways than one, whether it's worshiping with Virtual Abbey or diving into photographs of sacred places (or Stations of the Cross, or prayer beads) on Pinterest or listening more carefully to the music all around us (Chris Scharen writes more about this and Jeni Grangaard is sharing a Lenten playlist this season)

I am not taking anything away from the primacy of Scripture, but why do people insist on limiting God and arguing that there is a wrong way or a wrong place to look for God? By watching and listening for God in new ways, I can experience the beauty and mystery of God's presence even when God may feel more hidden because of the way my day is going. 

During this season of Lent while I reflect on the wilderness, I examine where I become separated from God and how God draws me near. The hymn "Sanctuary" petitions God

, 

"Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary

Pure and holy, tried and true

With thanksgiving, I'll be a living

Sanctuary for You" 

Becoming a sanctuary for the Living God means first finding ways to recognize God in my day and my life. Some days, that will mean holding a hard bound Bible in my hands but I refuse to say God cannot reach me anywhere God chooses.