A Place of Refuge

On Thursday as I was going into work, I happened to glance across the street toward the Temple and this was the image that I saw.  I was deeply impressed by the lighting of the rising sun upon the House of the Lord.  Scenes like this one are one of the few advantages to being awake by 5:30 am and at work by 7:00 am.

In sharing this picture with my sister Lynley, I told her that I wished I had been able to get a picture without the street light and the cars and everything else in it, but all I had time to do was snap a quick shot in hopes that it would do some justice to the beauty of the moment.  Lynley responded that she liked the street light and the cars because the picture "shows the contrast between the busy city and the light and peace of the temple."  I hadn't thought of it that way, but she was exactly right.

Sometimes we want the perfect photo, the one that has all beauty and no busyness; all Temple and no city traffic.  And indeed, that is what we hope for in eternity.  We yearn for that prophesied day wherein, we shall say, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:3-4).  This is a wonderful hope, and something that we ought to look forward to.

But even as we hope for that prophesied of day, we must also recognize that it is not the world that we live in today.  The world that we live in today includes streetlights, cars, busy schedules, disappointments, tears, and even death.  But it is in this reality that the Temple shines the brightest and holds the greatest meaning in our present mortal lives.  The Temple takes on its greatest value not in a vacuum of holiness, but standing as a refuge and a strength in the midst of a world of sin and despair.  Isaiah prophesied of these things, stating, "And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.  And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from the storm and from rain" (Isaiah 4:5-6).  It is in this imperfect, mortal setting that I feel my greatest gratitude for the House of the Lord.

Brett