Thursday, 23 February 2012

The veil is torn in two

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  Mark 15: 38

As Jesus died on the cross, various phenomena occurred and one of these was that the curtain or veil of the temple was torn in two.  This curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place and it was torn from top to bottom – torn by God not be man.  It signified that access into the most holy place was no longer the preserve of the high priest once a year on the Day of Atonement but sinful man now had access to the throne room of the Father because of the precious shed blood of Jesus.

The question though is in what manner do you enter the throne room?  Do you enter as a royal prince or princess, walking in a stately and regal way and taking your place on the dais as a son or daughter of the king?  You know you are a blood bought child of the Father, a brother or sister of Christ and a co heir with him of the Kingdom.  You know you have access to the Father at all times and can enter the throne room freely. You know you can sit next to Jesus and besides the Father and that your place and position in heaven is assured.

Maybe you enter the heavenly throne room cautiously with downcast eyes, realising that through the blood of Jesus you have access to the throne room but you are very nervous because of your sin.  You know you have done many things wrong and some of them are very recent.  You know God has forgiven your sin but you still feel guilty and are not totally confident of the reception you will get.  Your conscience condemns you even though something tells you it shouldn’t.  You approach the throne of grace, very conscious that God knows your failings and weaknesses but hoping that his love will overlook them.  You take your place on the steps below the throne with downcast eyes hoping for God’s mercy.

Or maybe you cannot imagine yourself even entering the throne room at all.  You are just not worthy to be in such exalted company.  You are too sinful, too dirty, too unclean.  Jesus may have forgiven your sins in theory but the reality is that you still feel like a sinner.  There is no way you can approach the throne of grace.  You could not possible walk past the host of heaven.  They might know just what an awful sinner you are and throw you out.  Far better not to go in there in the first place.

Or maybe you are a small child, utterly assured of your Daddy’s love and acceptance.  It never occurs to you that he might be busy with some important business.  He always loves to see you and always welcomes you.  You just rush in past the heavenly host, run up the steps and jump onto his knee, totally confident of the reception you will receive. You are not disappointed.  No matter how you come, his knee is always there for you and he loves to hear all you have to say.

How do you enter the throne room?  The answer to this question will say much about how you view ‘our Father in heaven.’ Too often the saints hang back letting their guilt and shame keep them from fully coming into the Father’s presence.  They cannot believe they can freely access the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help them in their time of need (Hebrews 4:16).  They just don’t feel good enough.  The truth is of course that we are and never will be good enough.  We can never do anything to earn this access into the Father’s presence because is a free gift .  It cost Jesus everything and us nothing.  Don’t let guilt and shame keep you from the Father’s presence.  Jesus has taken that away as well.

So whether you rush in as a small child and jump onto daddy’s knee or take a more sedate route and sit down next to Jesus, the important thing is that you enter right in.

This is the place where prayers are answered and that won’t happen if we are shaking and shivering with fear outside the throne room.  Nor will it happen if we are fearful of our reception and frightened to look up at our Father in case he accuses or condemns us. But the child of God who knows that to enter the throne room is all about Jesus and that their welcome and place are secure, will see their prayers answered as they will pray with faith and confidence to the only one who can answer them.  They are not sitting afar off, they are not sitting with downcast eyes but are sitting next to their heavenly Father who is eagerly listening to all they have to say and is waiting with all the provisions of heaven to answer their requests.






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