Romans 10:8 (NASB)
But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, in your mouth and in your heart” — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
Walls
Many times, we think that God is far away — too far for us to reach. In reality, He is closer than we think.
We know the Kenner floodwall. It’s about 10′-12′ high in most places. If you want to get to the other side, you either have to get a tall ladder and climb over or go a long way around. Either way, you’re not going to simply walk through it.
We could be on one side of the wall, and we just want to get to the other side, but it seems like there is just no way. It is solid concrete. I could try hitting it with my fists or kicking it. Either way, I’m not getting through.
That’s how it seems sometimes with God. He says that the kingdom of God is “in our midst”, but where is it? How can we break through that wall?
Luke 17:20-21 (NASB)
20 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed;
21 nor will they say, Look, here it is! or, There it is! For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
If the kingdom of God is right next to us, why can’t we see it?
Luke 18:17 (NASB)
17 “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
Pride cannot get us through the wall. Sheer determination will not work, either. Someone might think they can buy it.
Luke 18:24-27 (NASB)
24 And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!
25 “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
We need a way to get through that wall if we are going to reach God. Obviously, we can’t do it on our own. We need a doorway, like a floodgate.
John 10:9 (NASB)
9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Since we could not do it on our own, God provided a way for us to reach Him — Jesus.
John 14:6 (NASB)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Many people try to reach God using many different methods and beliefs. Jesus said that He is the only way, though. We can’t just say that we found another door and try to go through it. Worse yet, we can’t simply fool ourselves and others that it actually is a door. You could even paint what looks like a door, and say that one day, if you do all the right things, you will be able to get through that door. No matter what it looks like, at the end of the day, that wall is still a wall; you’re not getting through by yourself.
Matthew 7:13-14 (NASB)
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Jesus is the only way to reach God. Every other way will always end in failure. If we follow Him, though, we can start on an amazing journey.
Glory to Glory
God tells us that we don’t have to stop getting closer to Him after we give Him our lives. He wants us to keep growing, keep getting closer to Him and becoming more like Him.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NASB)
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
In the same way that Jesus is the only way to reach God, He is also the only way to draw closer to God. Young children don’t usually grow at the same rate all the time. They might grow a little, but then seem to “plateau”, or stop growing. Then, they will suddenly have a “growth spurt”, and they quickly outgrow all of their clothes.
Christianity can be the same way. Too often, though, people will get to a certain point, then tell themselves that they are close enough. They will just stay at that point until they die and go to heaven. For me (and I’m sure many others), that’s not enough. If God says that He has more to give me, I want it.
Closer
God wants a closer relationship with us. Are we willing to do what it takes to draw closer to Him? As we just read, we can see the glory of the Lord, but not directly. In Paul’s day, mirrors were usually fashioned, shiny pieces of metal, such as brass or silver. They were not as clear as ours are today. That’s the way it is when we see the glory of God; we can’t see it clearly. It could be that sin is blocking our view. It could be that we haven’t matured fully.
1 Corinthians 13:11-12 (NASB)
11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
God wants that close relationship even more than we do, but He can’t be in the presence of sin, so that keeps us separated from Him.
Future Hope
1 John 3:2-3 (NASB)
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
There will be a day when we will see Him as He is, because we will be set free from this body of sin, and we will be given a glorified body — one that is pure, redeemed and washed by the blood of Jesus. For now, we need to overcome while we are in this corrupted. Ever since Adam, we have had this curse to overcome. We know that it’s possible, though. Jesus showed us how.
How Close?
How close can we get? I believe that God has more than we can even imagine, even in this life.
Ephesians 2:4-7 (NASB)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
God took Paul to the third heaven. He gave visions to Peter. He saved Joseph in Egypt and raised him up. If God loves all of us equally, as the Bible says (Acts 10:34), then we could all have the kind of closeness that John, David, Abraham, or Moses had.
Friend
Exodus 33:11 (NASB)
11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
Some people are blessed to have a good friend — someone with whom you can share the good times and the bad, someone who will always be there for you, and you will always be there for them. When you talk with them, it is easy, comfortable, and you feel safe. This is the way it was for Moses.
Numbers 12:3 (NASB)
3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)
I think the humility of Moses was probably the main reason that he had the close relationship with God. The more that we can empty ourselves of our own foolish pride, the more room we make for God.
Joshua
Notice the hunger that Joshua had for the presence of God.
Exodus 33:11b (NASB)
When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
Joshua would stay by the tent as long as he could — even after Moses left. This is the hunger and thirst that Jesus told us we should fervently desire.
Righteousness
Matthew 5:6 (NASB)
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Righteousness is when we are in a right relationship with God, because we don’t have any sin separating us. What are we willing to pay for righteousness? What are we willing to give up? How much are we hungering and thirsting?
C.S. Lewis, in his book, “The Weight of Glory”, said this:
It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (emphasis added)
Why are we so often willing to settle for the cheap “trinkets” that sin has to offer, when we can have the priceless treasures that God is offering us?
Lord, help us to never settle for sin, or even going “halfway” toward You. We want all of You — all of Your presence, all of Your gifts, all of Your glory, and all of the persecutions that come with them.
…from glory to glory…
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