A Single-Word Meditation: “Sanctuary”

Spellbound, my eyes catch and soul inhales a holy, layered phrase:

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 “… the sanctuary of His body.”
John 2:21

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Strong’s word G3485, translated temple.
Or, sanctuary.

Being “the sacred edifice itself,
consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies”¹.

God’s sacred, structural space of habitation,
taken up to satisfy His desire to dwell among His people.

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Where light fills arched space, to be received. 6.13.11

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Then, the greatest paradox of all miracles:
“…God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him…”
Colossians 1:19

His body became the Holiest of Holies.

Spine, lungs, heart
Face, hands, feet
Skin, bone, blood
Hunger, thirst, fatigue

and, God with us.

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Through the ages, the structure of a sanctuary has come to be
“a place of refuge or safety”²

with synonyms including:

haven,
harbor,
port in a storm,
oasis,
shelter,
retreat,
hideaway.

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In Him, these meanings have converged.

He comes among us as the thinnest of any
Thin Space: a place where the wall “that separates heaven and earth
is nearly transparent.”³

He has provided
Cwtch: a Welsh word roughly translating 
“the act of creating a small space between you and another”⁴
or, “the safe place provided by a loved one’s hug.”⁵

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Our safe place, just as our Way, Truth, and Life, is a Person.
With eyelashes since infancy and scars earned in deepest suffering;
eyes that burn as fire and callouses gained at the carpenter’s bench.

His are safe hands, healing hands. Hands that give and bless.
Where we go for healing and forgiveness, to be touched and changed by God.
Our living, breathing Lord who is Himself our Sanctuary–
our restful haven and shelter.

Our place of peace is our Prince of Peace.

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Father, fill us also, that our bodies may be
thin spaces, holy places,
cleansed houses for You and luminescent shelters for people.

AMEN.

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Safe hands that give. 7.7.15

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1 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, from the Blue Letter Bible’s site
2 Google Dictionary
3 Pressing into Thin Places by Dr. Margaret Harrell Wills
4 http://the-cwtch.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-is-cwtch.html
5 The “Untranslatable Words of Love” of Vashi.com