Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp, away from the camp, calling it the tent of meeting…as Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and rest – Exodus 33: 7-11
So the Word became human and made his home among us – John 1:14
The entire story of humanity, is one of God wanting to fellowship with us. John tells us in his Gospel, that the reason was one of unfailing love towards his creation. We could discuss that for hours in itself, and it is a separate story worthy of some time. Maybe another day.
But in our great wisdom, we chose from early days to go it alone, to put out trust in our own governance and leave God out of it. I am simply amazed at how much people readily blame God for things that go wrong in their lives, when really we are the ones to blame.
God though, has not given up on us. He breaks through into humanity in the Bible 3 times, humbling himself to achieve what he has always wanted, dwelling with us. It is extraordinary humility, and when we see God in person finally, I think we will be staggered by not only his Glory and power, but also his humility. We are the ones with the pride problem.
Firstly, God came down to the Israelites after the Egypt exodus, under the leadership of Moses. The Bible says that God quite literally ‘tented’ with the Jews throughout their period before the taking of the Promised Land. Then again in John, we are told that God dwelt among us again, this time in actual human form, when the ‘Word’ became flesh. The two words used in both the old and new testaments are the same. He ‘tented’ with us but this time he actually ‘became flesh’.
A few verses before, John reminds us that the second time around was not much better than the first – God was still rejected by a world he had created. In fact says John, the world didn’t even recognise him. Worse still, this time God had a chosen people, the Jews. John tells us that even they rejected him, putting their hope in the law and their own good works, rather than the Son. But, we are given a clue as to why God still persevered then, and still does today.
in v12, it says all who believe(d) and accept(ed) Jesus, have the right to be called God’s children. They are reborn;
These then, are some of the most profound verses in the entire Bible; our acceptance of the salvation story of Jesus Christ, gives us the right to be called God’s children. It means we choose not to reject God, but to accept him and his son, it means we choose not to trust in our own works, but in the works of one who lived perfectly and instead stands in our place, it means we deeply regret our severed relationship with God, but trust him implicitly to one day put it right. No other religion has a story quite like it and as CS Lewis once said,“nobody could come up with story like this other than God”
But I said that there were 3 times in the Bible when it tells us of God living with us – the third is yet to come. In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, we are told that one day God is coming to live with us again and finally fulfil his original purpose for mankind. This is something all the apostles and early believers would have accepted and longed for.
He tells us that he is going to recreate everything at that time, most especially us. We will have new bodies and new hearts. The test will be over, and those that have accepted him will have passed and so have the eternal right to be called children of the Living God, and so dwell with him forever. God hints at what that will be like throughout the whole of Scripture, but he also tells us that ‘no eye has seen, nor ear has heard what the Lord has prepared for those who love him’. It will be a special time.
The central part – the Jesus part, is the part that changed everything. He alone brings certainty to the last part and over the next few weeks we will see how that is.
This week, remember that your faith in Jesus Christ gives you the right to be called a child of God. Dwell on the preciousness of those words as you rest in him.