You are sacred. I am sacred.
These are not words we typically use to describe one another. In everyday life, we speak in more familiar terms — I see you as a friend, a family member, a colleague, a stranger. Sometimes, I even see you as a threat — a radical, someone who has hurt me, someone I don’t understand, someone I fear.

But beneath all those labels and roles, there is something deeper. Something God has created within us. We are the image of God. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

^16-17 You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple. (I Corinthians 3: 16-17 MSG).

We forget this. We’re not taught to see the sacred in each other, let alone in ourselves. Our culture teaches us to measure, to judge, to categorize. Today, we seem focused on “us” and “them” rather than “we”. And yet, when I pause I can begin to see it to notice it. The quiet dignity in another person’s eyes. The invisible weight of their story. The unfortunate part is that more and more I have to pause and force myself to see that you are sacred. It should be natural and unforced. I admit that too often it is not.

You are sacred. I am sacred.
It may sound strange. It may even feel uncomfortable. But maybe that’s only because we’ve forgotten how to speak in the language of reverence. Maybe it’s because we no longer see each other as neighbors. Maybe we need to start seeing the people around us. I know I do. I can make a lot of excuses, but the reality is, I need to start seeing you as sacred.

Do you struggle to see others as a temple of the Holy Spirit? Share your story here and breathe life and bring hope to others.