Take those shoes off!
Acts 7:33
“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
When I travel to the many countries of the world there is one thing that I find people have in common. They don’t like shoes in the house. If they come into the house the shoes remain at the door. It is the case for mosques and synagogues as well as for the many churches, in the eastern part anyway. It’s a good job my mum taught me this childhood discipline for taking ones shoes off as I fit in very well in these situations.
In the west we think it is because we are being polite towards the home owner, we don’t want to dirty their carpet etc.
In the east it is different, it is not so much about the carpet or floor but about respect for the home owner. It is their presence not what they have that commands our respect which we show by taking off our shoes.
“Moses the ground isn’t holy because it is special, the ground is holy because I am here”. “Take off your shoes. Respect my presence.”
At that time Moses was shielding his face in respect of God. But that wasn’t enough. Now he has to turn his attention to his sandals. Why?
God was about to call Moses to GO. His sandals were the means to GO. Moses had to submit his rights and his means to GO. God was to be the authority, the leader, the provider of his life. Nothing Moses had would be enough, he had to let go and submit everything he had in order to follow God’s call to GO.
Nothing has changed, so go ahead take off your shoes.
Missions Paul 