Unveiled
As Easter approaches, I was reading Matthew 27:50-53 and thinking about the incident of the veil's tearing right after Jesus breathed his last and the significance it has to Christ followers today.
The huge, thick and beautiful curtain that was torn from the top down, served to divide the thick presence of God known as the most holy of places or the Holy of Holies from ordinary people. It was a
dark place that spoke of the mystery of God and could not be approached accept once a year by the high priests and only after a blood sacrifice was made. A reading of Hebrews 9 gives the theological understanding of the fact that Christ blood sacrifice opened wide the most holy of places to all who believe.
This access to the presence of God is something that we so easily can take for granted in our day to day lives. Yet, most of what we long for is found in the awareness of it.
This story really started back with Adam and Eve. They lived with a constant knowledge of this good, perfect, safe, awesome, mysterious and loving presence of God. It was to them as natural as any element of life - air, water, or food. When sin was welcomed, it was not God that hid from humanity, but humanity that hid from God. It was not God that withdrew His presence, but we who withdrew from knowing it.
This was the turning point in our history. Without a knowledge of the prefect presence of God – man began to murder, steel, lie, cheat, to hurt others, to start wars.
When we think of the atrocities of this world and the incredible sufferings of humanity, we are sometimes tempted to ask the question, "where was God?"
He has not gone anywhere. He never left. Fallen man cannot recognize the presence and so we often are not capable of operating within the goodness & mercy of it. The result is legions of people who are fractured and who struggle and endure great strife for identity and meaning in this world.
Our identity is wrapped up into the identity of God. When we are not aware of His presence, we are not aware of Him. When we don’t know who God is, we don’t know who we are. The real us (who we are in God) and who we think we are in this life becomes divided. We become desperate for meaning, struggling to make whole what feels pulled apart.
Do you see how important this awareness of God’s presence is?
You may be a believer in Jesus and wondering why you are not more conscience of this presence of God if in fact the veil is now torn. As you know you can be in a room with hundreds of people and still only be aware of a fraction of them. One has to be either paying attention to a person or at least in very close proximity to them to be aware their presence.
All barriers have been removed from God and us thanks to Jesus. What is needed is for us simply to be attentive to that presence, to draw near to it in our desires and actions.
Living with this knowledge allows us to understand why Paul calls us ministers of reconciliation (2 Co 5:18). As people who now have complete access to the presence of God and all that that means, we are now called to reconcile other people to that same awareness. God’s acceptance and their understanding of that reinstates their worth in Him, it makes whole what is broken.
The huge, thick and beautiful curtain that was torn from the top down, served to divide the thick presence of God known as the most holy of places or the Holy of Holies from ordinary people. It was a
dark place that spoke of the mystery of God and could not be approached accept once a year by the high priests and only after a blood sacrifice was made. A reading of Hebrews 9 gives the theological understanding of the fact that Christ blood sacrifice opened wide the most holy of places to all who believe.This access to the presence of God is something that we so easily can take for granted in our day to day lives. Yet, most of what we long for is found in the awareness of it.
This story really started back with Adam and Eve. They lived with a constant knowledge of this good, perfect, safe, awesome, mysterious and loving presence of God. It was to them as natural as any element of life - air, water, or food. When sin was welcomed, it was not God that hid from humanity, but humanity that hid from God. It was not God that withdrew His presence, but we who withdrew from knowing it.
This was the turning point in our history. Without a knowledge of the prefect presence of God – man began to murder, steel, lie, cheat, to hurt others, to start wars.
When we think of the atrocities of this world and the incredible sufferings of humanity, we are sometimes tempted to ask the question, "where was God?"
He has not gone anywhere. He never left. Fallen man cannot recognize the presence and so we often are not capable of operating within the goodness & mercy of it. The result is legions of people who are fractured and who struggle and endure great strife for identity and meaning in this world.
Our identity is wrapped up into the identity of God. When we are not aware of His presence, we are not aware of Him. When we don’t know who God is, we don’t know who we are. The real us (who we are in God) and who we think we are in this life becomes divided. We become desperate for meaning, struggling to make whole what feels pulled apart.
Do you see how important this awareness of God’s presence is?
You may be a believer in Jesus and wondering why you are not more conscience of this presence of God if in fact the veil is now torn. As you know you can be in a room with hundreds of people and still only be aware of a fraction of them. One has to be either paying attention to a person or at least in very close proximity to them to be aware their presence.
All barriers have been removed from God and us thanks to Jesus. What is needed is for us simply to be attentive to that presence, to draw near to it in our desires and actions.
Living with this knowledge allows us to understand why Paul calls us ministers of reconciliation (2 Co 5:18). As people who now have complete access to the presence of God and all that that means, we are now called to reconcile other people to that same awareness. God’s acceptance and their understanding of that reinstates their worth in Him, it makes whole what is broken.
9:17 PM
How do you think Eph. 6 encouragement to put on the armor of God relates to being aware of God's presence? Are the parts of the armor parts of his presence? top
9:27 PM
I asked a question and now I am going to venture an answer to my question. I still would like an answer from you too.
It seems to me that all the aspects of the armor are parts of His presence.
Because we are in a fallen state we need to learn how to recognize and appropriate the different aspects of God's presence. Which is vast in it's multifacetedness. It is now available to us in Christ because as you said, the veil has been lifted. The battle with the enemy has been won and we need to learn how to stand in the power of the victory He has given us.
This life is a process of finding Christ and growing up into what He as purchased for us: A relationship with God, that if walked in, can defeat the enemy that stole our inheritance back in the garden. top
2:21 PM
Wow, it took me a while to answer your question. Sorry. I have not thought of that correlation before, but it is a very good one.
Verse 10 of Eph. 6 states "be strong in the Lord and his mighty power." I think that is THE thing: We are IN the Lord.
So much of the language that is heard in Christian circles seems to believe that although we are IN the Lord, we still have to fight. But Paul says in verse 13 & 14 that we "stand" not fight. The battle really does belong to the Lord (1 Sa 17:47/ 2 Ch 20:15) and the victory also belong to the Lord through Christ and all that the torn veil symbolizes, which is as you said; that we can now have our inheritance back that we originally had in the garden.
Our job is simply to focus our energies on being IN Christ, on STANDING on what is already done. To release our grip and awaken to what is already won. top
9:55 AM
I guess the topic of "standing" in the Lord correlates with "being," as opposed to doing. I too love the story of Mary and Martha. I relate so much more to Mary, as that is where I have found God's grace - sitting at Jesus feet.
One of my favorite sayings is, "We are not human doings but human beings."
I so relate to the scripture,"A day in your presence is far better to me than gold." The great outpouring of the Spirit that took place in the early church took place after the church spent time waiting in an upper room for the promised Holy Spirit. Jesus, John and all the prophets did not begin their ministies until it was time, until they were sent and empowered by God. I find trying to do the works of God outside of God's leading and empowerment a waist if time. top
10:29 AM
You are so right, a waste of time and totally exhausting. I am driven though so it goes against my nature to be like Mary. Although my heart identifies with her, if I were honest, I draw my self worth from being like a Martha. I have learned the only way to live is through being and inner stillness and attending to the presence of Christ the hard way, and I am so thankful top