God’s Dwelling Place
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John 1:14-18
14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. 15. (John bore witness to him, and cried, "This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.'") 16. And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. 17. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18. No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.
Exodus 25:8
And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
Ezekiel 37:27
My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Zechariah 2:10-11
10. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. 11. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
Can there be any doubt that God desires an intimate relationship with man? In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve interacted with God as they strolled through paradise. They had an on-going dialogue with him for many, many years. They were intimate -- he knew everything about them -- since he made them, and he had a special place in his heart for these creatures! When man first sinned by desiring to be God -- not like God, but to be God, God withdrew. He loved his people so much though, that unlike Lucifer, he did not condemn his beloved to hell. And he continued (and continues!) for centuries to allow us to repent and to desire again that intimacy with him.
When we continued to not “get it” he sent his son/himself to earth, to directly interact, in physical form with us. And even then, we refused him and the greatest love ever conceived of or imagined! I wonder if at that fall, man realized for the first time that he was not God. He understood for the first time that he was not in control or the ultimate power. He didn’t create the world he lived in. He had dominion over it - to care for it -- the perfect world our loving God created for us. And yet, we continue to act like spoiled children. We desperately seek after that intimacy, but stop short of inviting the Master to the be master of our lives.
We were created to desire our Creator. That is the unsatisfied, secret longing within us. That desire is misplaced by the world though. We are distracted by the automatically increased volume of television commercials. And by the shiny new cars in lots that run for miles and miles down many major thoroughfares. The mega-malls are too tempting. The countless catalogues offering “free shipping with $50 order.” Our jobs, our careers, our hobbies. Too many shiny, sparkly, enticing distractions. And still God waits. Still he loves us. Still he longs for us to find him.
My prayer today is that you seek first your God who loves you beyond reason or imagining. And that you stop throughout your busy day to thank him for the gift of his grace.
Mary
