In my home, I now have an altar. It is not a thing of beauty or a decorative piece. When I first got this altar, my children asked me what I planned to do with it. I told them that I would put it in my office as a place of remembrance. It is next to the wall.
The altar does not match the other wood in the room. The cushion on the kneeling rail does not match the rest of the room. The wood on altar is scuffed and the cushion is stained. I do not plan to refinish or reupholster the fabric. It is my current intention to leave it just like it is. It is a symbolic piece of furniture. To me, I could never make this a thing of beauty.
Lest you misunderstand, it is not an icon and it is not something that will be regarded as untouchable. In fact, I will probably use it occasionally as its intended purpose: an altar. That will really depend on whether or not I can get down on my knee replacement and then get back up. It is a challenge!
So what’s so important about this altar? I am so glad you asked….
To me an altar is a place that represents a person’s genuine desire to give themselves wholly to God.
It is a place of sacrifice and forgiveness.
It is a place of consecration and my covenant to God.
It is a place of encountering God and of intercession.
It is a place that marks my life-path.
You see, altars are built of hard things. It is not easy to give up your old life and commit to follow Jesus the rest of your life. It is not easy to sacrifice your own desires and life goals to followJesus. It IS the best thing that will ever happen to you!
This altar is a place of remembrance. God commanded us to build altars in our lives so that we WOULD remember. In fact, I believe one of the principles taught to us in the Old Testament is that it is more important to build altars and pitch tents in our lives than it is to pitch tents and then build altars. In other words, we are to sacrifice and consecrate ourselves before we worry about having our homes, our jobs, our education, etc. in place. Altars should be first, a place to remember what God has done.
When I look at the little altar in my office and see the scuffs, I remember seeing men and women who rushed to an altar, barely making it before they fell on their faces before God to repent of their wrongdoing or pour out their woes before a God who truly cares. I remember the young people who stood around their friends, praying over them and helping them find their way to Calvary. I see the stains on the cushions and imagine that many of the stains are tears of the broken-hearted as they poured out their heartache to a loving and caring God. I remember seeing moms with babies in their arms as they sat on the floor by the altar crying out to God but also feeding their babies as they did so. Spilled milk, juice, spit up. It could be any of those, but it is also a memory of the pain as they cried out to God. Moms mourning over the loss of another child to miscarriage. Moms mourning the loss of a child to war. Parents mourning the prodigal. Husbands/wives mourning the destruction of their home due to immorality or the loss of love. Loss of business ventures. Loss of jobs. Loss of dreams. I remember.
I see tears of joy. Joy when the home is restored, the wronged party forgives, another, better job is found, dreams are renewed, children come home. I remember.
I also know that there are times when we must repair the altar. We must go back and do our first works: repent. We must pick up another stone of sacrifice and lay it on the altar, have our paths re-marked. We must reconsecrate and recommit ourselves to our heavenly father. We may even need to have another God-encounter, asking Him what it is that He now requires of us. We may need to sit at the altar and‘ pray through,’ pray until we feel a release that the answer is on the way. Or, we may just need to sit at the altar, worshipping and basking in His presence, loving him and remembering the good He has been to us.
An altar doesn’t necessarily have to be a piece of furniture in your home, but we all need a place, a moment, a time of remembering and being in the presence of a God who loves and forgives. That’s what this altar is for.
