See Clearly
Jesus came that we might clearly see and know God.
“Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Put the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law in the Most Holy Place.”
Exodus 26:33-34
When the tabernacle of worship was being built there was separation between the people and the dwelling place of God. There were restrictions on who could go in to see God and only at certain times could people with authority go into the Most Holy Place.
Jesus said blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Why would the design of the tabernacle have had areas of separation? What benefit could that have been to people in understanding the reverence we are to have before God?
“God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great. His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion."
Psalms 76:1-2, 7, 11
Salem means peace and Zion describes heaven. David is singing about how there is peace in the house of the Lord and you will see Him in heaven. Peace must have been even more significant for David as he was a person who experienced many battles. His heart must have yearned for peace and perhaps the one place he found it was in God's tent.
Where do you find peace? What do you picture when you picture a safe place?
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings...Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence"
Proverbs 25:2, 4, 6
One of the ways that God's challenges our thinking is through the necessity of revelation and the presence of mystery. We love to live in a world dominated by data, statistics, facts, and logic. Yet, even the collective knowledge of the world is not able to answer some of life's difficult questions.
Solomon adds a critical point within this text. He says to be humble and not exalt yourself in the king's presence. He knows that one cannot learn if they do not have a heart to listen and see things from a different perspective. Have you ever faced a difficulty too great to understand or had questions that needed divine answers? Can you see God in the mystery?
“God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding."
Jeremiah 10:12, 16, 23-24
One of the strongest arguments for the existence of God is creation itself. How did everything begin. Science can pinpoint the rate of expansion of the universe which is constant and that same formula can trace back to a point in time when it all began. But, how did it happen?
The Bible says God created the heavens and the earth. When we take time to look at the variety of species, plants, animals, and beauty of this world; are we not left in awe at the power and wisdom of God? Can we see God when we see His creation?
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him...After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing...One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
John 9:1-3, 5-7, 25, 31
Jesus does what has never been done before. He heals a blind man. What does the blind man see? The Son of God. Imagine how incredible that moment must have been for the man. Blind every day of his life. Total darkness. Certainly he was poor, had few friends, and had missed out on the normal life that others live. Had he ever been in love? Had he ever felt the joy of kinship or the joy that comes from accomplishment after doing hard work?
In a single moment, Jesus changes his life. He helps him see and gives him a new life. Jesus does the same thing for us. He wants to help us see God and see who we are to Him. He wants us to unlearn all that we have learned from the world about who we are and grab hold of the kingdom life that He offers to us.
Jesus wants to transform your life. He came remove all separation like there had been with the holy place and most holy place. He came to make his dwelling with us and in us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Are you open and ready to become the temple of God so that people will see the works of God in you?