The Third Place

When the leaders of Australia, my country, wanted a capital city a great argument ensued. People in both Melbourne and Sydney, the two dominant cities in the country both wanted their place chosen as the capital. The conflict went on and on until finally a solution was reached. A third place was chosen. A sheep farming community in the middle of nowhere, roughly half-way between the two cities was developed into Canberra. This new city became the capital of my country and the question was resolved. For both of these cities, the thought of missing out on the honour of being the capital was not as severe a problem to them as the possibility that their rival city might be chosen. And so this third-place solution became a viable compromise.

Christians in general argue a lot about theological viewpoints and denominational distinctives. Where should we worship? Should we go to a Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant church to find God? Perhaps the question for you is whether a Baptist service or a Presbyterian service is more honouring to God. God comes in with an answer to these conflicts. He offers a third place. It was the same place Jesus offered to the woman at the well in John chapter four.

She wanted to argue about places of worship. Should Mt Gerizim be the place, or should everyone worship at Jerusalem? Jesus answered:

The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:19-24

Worshiping in spirit is the third place. “In spirit” is the third place. It is a place, not an ideal. It is a place where we can all go to worship the Father. It is his choice. It suits him, not us. We want everyone to come to us, so that our place could be the capital of worship. He is longing for us to come to him so that his house can be that centre.

What does that mean? The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirits. He brings all of Heaven with him. He brings the father and his house to us. He brings the kingdom into our innermost being.

“. . . nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst [or within you].”

Luke 17:21

All partisan arguments are silenced, because his choice of place is far superior to those of human devising. He is most revealed to us in his native environment. He is spirit and it is in spirit he wishes to meet us. For hundreds of years, Christian mystics have retreated from the world and turned inward. They have found the true place of worship within their spirits. The choice of solitude and silence has often borne fruit.  Those who have sought him his way have found him. They have found the Father in the third place.