An Open Way to God

Sunday, July 28, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

Luke 23:44–46

From the time shortly after the exodus from Egypt, God’s presence on earth was symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant. It was shrouded from view, first in the tabernacle and later in the temple in Jerusalem. Only one person, the high priest, was allowed in its presence, and that was just once a year on the Day of Atonement when he took the blood of the sacrifice to the Mercy Seat. There was a thick veil some thirty feet high that hid the Holy of Holies in the Temple. But on the day Jesus died, it was ripped apart, not by human hands, but instead from the top to the bottom and the way to God was opened to us. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;” (Hebrews 10:19–20)

We have such an amazing privilege of access to God. The way has been opened once and for all. And yet too often we act as if there is still a barrier preventing us from coming into His presence. The reality of the torn veil does not benefit many Christians because they do not live as if it were true. Prayer is not just for emergencies, and fellowship with God is not just for Sundays. There is a real and living God who has invited us to come before Him. And though all Heaven and earth bow before Him, we get to call Him our Father.

Today's Growth Principle: 

How often do we use the access we have been given into the very presence of God?