God With Us

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

In the years before Jesus came to Earth, God and man were separate. A veil was hung in the temple, behind which only the Priests were allowed. It was behind this veil that the rites of atonement were performed. It was behind this veil that the priests of Israel, once a year, could come into the presence of God. The veil was a reminder to Israel that the sin of man kept him separate from the Most High. That God could not bear to be in the presence of Sin. It had been this way for generations.

But then, Jesus. 

God came out from behind the curtain and dwelt among fallen men. He walked our paths, ate our food, became one of us in order to bring us Home. God sent Jesus as a man, because, for a mortal man to cross over a chasm, a bridge must have its feet on both sides. Jesus, The Word, was with God and He was God, and he lived as a man to do what men were unable to do: to provide a Way back. 

When the Priests of Israel went, once a year, behind the veil in the temple, the best they could do was make a temporary covering of sins. A mask without a cure.When we go to God, our offerings are paltry, and insufficient. God wasn't interested in a covering. 

God wasn't interested in this religion of sacrifice and atonement, repeated once a year. He wasn't interested in visiting His children by proxy; He wanted a relationship with each one of His children. With you and with me, and with every single member of this sinful human race.

That is why, on the day Jesus -- God right here on Earth -- died, the Temple veil was torn. God was letting us know these days of religion were over. That He had once and for all offered Forgiveness and a true relationship with Him. It could once again be like the old days, when He would walk in the Garden with His Adam. When each one of us could finally be called, once again, His sons and daughters.

But it didn't start with Jesus' death; it began with His birth. Our renewed relationship with God truly began on the Day our Savior, Jesus Christ, came to Earth and dwelt as one of us. We weren't able to go to Him, so God, instead, came to Us. 

That's how it was, and that's how it is. God knows you can't come to Him, so instead, He comes to you. He reaches across the chasm we've built in our own Spirits, and asks only that you take His hand. 

 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

With You In Spirit*

"I am with you always." Jesus told his disciples as much right after He told them to go into the world and disciple all the nations. And more or less right before He was taken into Heaven. So,  obviously, He was speaking in spiritual terms.

Of course, like anything, repetition  and lack of context can often make us lose the meaning -- and import -- of what is said. I wonder how many times I've told somebody, "I'll be with you in spirit." So, while my friends are doing whatever (usually unpleasant) task for which I found a reason to be absent, I'd be, what, thinking about them? Maybe. Actually, it's doubtful even that is the case, really. But we say it so often, don't we?

But what Jesus was saying is so much more meaningful. When He said,  "I am with you always," yes, sure, he meant I'm with you in Spirit. Except that, for Jesus, it isn't figurative. For Jesus to be with us in spirit, means He is literally with us. In fact, being In the Spirit means He is with us more completely than we can ever be with somebody even in the same room.

So, if that's the case -- that Jesus is with us literally at all times, praying without ceasing doesn't seem quite so daunting,  does it? 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Prayer is something more than this uniform, spoken letter to God, beginning with "Dear Jesus," and closing with "Amen." Prayer is a constant conversation with an ever-present Lord.

When is the last time you spoke to Jesus as though He were in the same room with you? Considering He told us He actually is, it might be worth trying.


*Today's devotional was inspired by a recent "episode" of Radio Free Babylon's "Coffee with Jesus" comic strip.