TUESDAY
This week for the devotional, since we had serve Sunday last Sunday and I was on vacation last week, I asked a few people in the church to share how they have experienced church/fellow believers as sacred space.
by Tom Jacobson
First of all, I want to share a verse from the bible. I'll warn you, this is as cliche and cookie cutter as they come;I know you've all heard this before. Matthew 18 says, "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me... Jesus then says in verse 20,"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them".
For those that do not know me yet, my wife Cait and I are blessed with 3 young children; Evelyn, Lily and Teddy. Naturally, the community that we choose to surrounded ourselves with is largely comprised of young families with kids. These people are typically people who are going through the same stage of life as us and are generally the same age as us.
When I think of the church as a sacred space, I immediately think of the community that it provides. However, as I thought about the community that I am part of at LifeBridge, I found myself thinking of a whole lot more than just people who are the same age as me, walking through the same stage of life.
While Cait and I are plugged into a small group comprised of young families, we are also part of bible studies comprised of people in every stage of life. I'm part of a mens group where I am the youngest and 4 out of 7 are grandfathers. Furthermore, I have been blessed with the opportunity to help with our Middle School youth ministry on Sunday's. While I've been a middle schooler before, it's been multiple decades since I've been able to give myself that title. I hardly know what's popular nowadays, much less know what it's like to navigate life as a young teen in 2025. What I do know is true is that when 2 or more believers meet in his name, the holy spirit is present. A challenge that God has presented me with is that those believers don't have to be your age or walking through the same stage of life as you in order for the Holy Spirit to work. I oftentimes disregard people, or don't listen like I should, simply because I assume that the person I'm talking to can't possibly know what I'm going through. When in reality, we are all much more alike than it seems. We are all broken, sinful people who long to be with God. This type of community is what separates us in the church from other communities derived simply out of people who think and act the same way.
The truth is, it's incredible how many times I have experienced the presence of God while surrounded by people who I wouldn't naturally gravitate towards. For example, some of the most influential and powerful moments have come from listening to somebody much older than me share their testimony. And what I have found through working with the middle schoolers is that, even trough they are much younger than me, they still navigate the same spiritual and existential questions that we navigate as adults.
In summary, as I think of the church as a sacred space, I think of a place where a community can encounter the Holy Spirit together, just as the temple was a place to encounter God before Jesus. For me, it didn't just take a child-like awe and wonder to experience the Holy Spirit like what Jesus is referring to in Matthew 18. Instead, it took a literal moment of getting out of my comfort zone - seeing children (or in this case young teens) process their faith, to experience the Holy Spirit together.
I'm praying for you all today that we may continue to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. I thank God for crafting the communities we are involved in as not ones that are necessarily comfortable but ones that help us grow in our faith. I am thankful for my circle, mens bible studies and the middle schoolers whom I am so blessed to spend time with. And I thank you, Jesus, for allowing us to experience the Holy Spirit in our sacred spaces.