Monday, March 7, 2011

Draw Near

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

When Adam and Eve sinned, everything changed. Before God walked with them in the cool of the evening, after that they were driven from the garden of Eden. The rift between God and man was great. And few walked with the Lord thereafter. When God appointed Moses and used him as His tool to redeem the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, he alone had personal fellowship with the Lord God. When he went up on the mountain to speak to God, not one other person was to go near. Not even an animal should be allowed to tread across the mountain and live. God's holiness is too great. The people knew that His perfection would destroy them, so they asked Moses to be the one to represent them to God and God to them. And so it continued.

The Law continued this pattern. Only on very specific occasions was anyone to enter into the Holy of Holies. Only once a year was anyone allowed to go so deep into the temple. The dividing curtain was thick and forbidding, and clearly illustrated the reality: Under Law you are separated. No access. The Ark communicated this repeatedly. When a well-meaning bystander meant to brace the Ark from falling he died immediately. Even in our best intentions access is denied to the Sacred, to the Holy. In the book of 1 Samuel the Philistines capture the Ark and its very presence causes them continual suffering: tumors growing on them. In the end they had to return it. Access denied.

So what changed? Did God become less holy? Surely not! Did He decide to compromise His otherwise perfect standards? Never. How then can we even imagine being able to "draw near with confidence" when so many saints before were destroyed by this Holiness? The answer, of course, lies in the person of Jesus Christ, and our relationship with Him. We may easily confuse confidence with "self-confidence" for the two words are often used synonymously, but in this case, they are antonyms! We draw near with confidence exactly because it is NOT self-confidence! We draw near because it is confidence in Jesus Christ, His character, His nature, His righteousness. If we ever imagine we approach on any other grounds we place ourselves amongst the most deluded and pitiable people alive. Because of what Jesus has done, we may come to the Lord with confidence. Praise the Lord! What a privilege!

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