NOT TOO LONG AGO I was attending the church where I grew up. What used to be a church of several hundred members is today a small but sturdy group of a few dozen. I found myself thinking, "This church is active, but oh, so empty." Almost that very instant another thought came to me: "This church isn't empty—it's available!" The church is located in a city with a population of several hundred thousand, and it has plenty of room for people to come to learn more about God's powerful, healing love. The question for any church, however, is this: is the church prepared to receive them?
Nothing does the job like healing!
In Biblical times, the Israelites dedicated themselves to the preparation of the temple, a sanctuary that they considered to be God's abode. While God moved and acted throughout all creation, they believed that His glory, or kabodh, was particularly present at the temple. The term kabodh signified, literally, the weight of God's power and majesty. It was also associated with radiant light. In God's presence was light, and anything that stood in His presence was bathed in that light and reflected it.
