I think a lot of Christians still live in the Old Testament. By this I mean we live as though some of the constricting laws of the Old Testament still apply to us today. I am not talking about the Ten Commandments or the law to love the Lord your God, I believe all that still stands. It’s all well and good. I am mainly talking about our attitude towards the presence of God.
Most of us walk around as though the tabernacle still exists. As if there are only a few choice people who can step into the presence of God, people who are more spiritually connected then I am, pastors, missionaries, Jesus-freaks, whoever it might be. They experience God’s presence, not me. It may be a subconscious thing, but in the depths of our hearts we really don’t believe that we can truly enter into the presence of God and see His face. We either don’t believe, or you’re like me, afraid that God’s presence and what He might reveal to you could mess up your ‘comfortable Christianity’.
The truth, however, is this; we cannot live as though the tabernacle and the holy of holies still exist. We live in the light of a new truth that the writer of Hebrews talks about at length…
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart and with full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:19-22)
We cannot leave God’s presence in the tabernacle, only to be visited once a year. We cannot stuff God into a shrine because the curtain was torn when Jesus gave up His soul and the Spirit of God, the presence of God now dwells in each and every one of us.
My prayer is that I would heed the instruction the writer of Hebrews gives and draw near to God with a sincere heart. It’s a scary and “spiritual” thing, yes. And it will probably ruin my comfortable life and throw me way off balance. But I would rather do flips on a balance beam with God as my spotter, then sit comfortably on the sidelines and never even enter the competition.
-jon
Most of us walk around as though the tabernacle still exists. As if there are only a few choice people who can step into the presence of God, people who are more spiritually connected then I am, pastors, missionaries, Jesus-freaks, whoever it might be. They experience God’s presence, not me. It may be a subconscious thing, but in the depths of our hearts we really don’t believe that we can truly enter into the presence of God and see His face. We either don’t believe, or you’re like me, afraid that God’s presence and what He might reveal to you could mess up your ‘comfortable Christianity’.
The truth, however, is this; we cannot live as though the tabernacle and the holy of holies still exist. We live in the light of a new truth that the writer of Hebrews talks about at length…
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart and with full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:19-22)
We cannot leave God’s presence in the tabernacle, only to be visited once a year. We cannot stuff God into a shrine because the curtain was torn when Jesus gave up His soul and the Spirit of God, the presence of God now dwells in each and every one of us.
My prayer is that I would heed the instruction the writer of Hebrews gives and draw near to God with a sincere heart. It’s a scary and “spiritual” thing, yes. And it will probably ruin my comfortable life and throw me way off balance. But I would rather do flips on a balance beam with God as my spotter, then sit comfortably on the sidelines and never even enter the competition.
-jon
