I want the presence of God Himself, or I don’t want anything at all to do with religion.
~ AW Tozer
But when Christ appeared as a High Priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God…. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a Great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our Hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
~ The Encourager, in Hebrews 9 & 10
Oh beloved, it is true.
There is an aspect of the Christian Life that is not like any other part of life. And, it is something that is so easy to miss, unless we are intentional about it. It is the experience of the very Presence of G_d. It is the very best part of life, and a piece and scent of the Life to come.
Oh, and it is not nearly so mystical as it sounds.
We can miss the same thing with those who are close to us. We are infatuated by those we come to know, early in a relationship. However, unless we actually work to go deeper into a relationship with them, we can develop a bit of a thick skin in regards to them. The people we are closest to, can be the people that seem the farthest away.
Can we see it though?
It is actually easier for us to live in the Presence of G_d, than it is to live in intimacy with the humans around us, about which we care. For, in the case of our Savior, this same Jesus has both entered fully into our humanity from on high, and driven that same humanity back through the veil of separation between the Triune Ones and us.
And so, while They have always been omnipresent, we can now sense Them because They have become us, that we might be joined fully to them One Day. Jesus made this happen. The Very G_d of all creation, became the offspring of them that He made. He tore through the surface of time, and plunged it back into the primordial and infinite depths of eternity through His life, death, resurrection and ascension back into the near Presence of The Father.
Yes. All of this is hard to understand. However, if an ineffable G_d were to make ThemSelves known to us, this is the only scenario that matches up to everything needed. This same G_d would have needed to empty Himself such that He could be known by His creation. But, just the same, this same G_d would not have stayed and died with the dying.
His death would mean so much more. It would mean that He had completely joined us, in all of our experience. But now, in Him joining us fully, we could be joined fully to Him – and drawn back up into His existence to experience it with Him, forever.
Yes. Mystical. But, entirely practical. We get it. For a human relationship to be felt fully, we must invest fully in it. And Jesus has done just this to get to know us, and all we have to do is respond and enjoy it.
So, are you feeling alone? There is no need. This sense of isolation is a terrible lie. We are never alone again. G_d has burst through all the barriers, and is drawing us into His Presence wherein is joy and hope and strength – and Him.
Tonight is your night, let down that last barrier: you beloved. You. Let down the barrier, and let Him come in to you.
Let us often withdraw our thoughts from this earth, this scene of misery, and folly, and sin, and raise them toward that more vast and glorious world, whose innocent and blessed inhabitants solace themselves eternally in the divine presence, and know no other passion but an unmixed joy, and an unbound love.
~ Henry Scougal
