So Near, Yet So Far!!!

SO NEAR, YET SO FAR….

Sometimes in our Christian sojourn, really can we (God’s children) be far away from the very One we owe our physical and spiritual lives to, even though we may be mistakenly thinking we are close to him? Are there Biblical examples of some souls who were “so close, yet so far from Him”…Yes…in this message I would like to train the spotlight on some of them, even while gleaning lessons which are very much applicable to God’s people of the 21st century…

Tree…

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”-Gen 3:8-10

After the tragic fall, were the very first children of God in the revealed Biblical history well within the ear-shot distance (hiding behind the trees) of hearing the words of their Father so as to have a brief dialogue with Him when He came to fellowship with them that calamitous day? Yes. But were Adam and Eve emotionally and spiritually close to Him as before? No. Till that sad, sad day had they not felt spiritually “secure” in His presence, whenever the Lord came into that “Little Paradise” (Eden Garden) to fellowship with them? Oh yes, so much so they may have actually come running to Him in the manner a loved child comes running into the presence of a Doting Dad returning home after a long International tour!!!

So what really happened? What did they “lose” now to feel spiritually “so distant” and thereby “insecure” in the very presence of their Eternal benefactor?

To understand this subject more clearly, we need to understand how the Final Adam (the Son of God like Adam – 1 Cor 15:45/Luke 3:38) began His Earthly Ministry. No other issue was more close to His heart than this…let the Scripture take over at this stage…

Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”- Mark 1:14-15

What is that Kingdom of God, Jesus is referring to here? By any chance was this a reference to Heaven or Millennial Kingdom? No…not at all for they contextually were not “near” to His audience at that point of time either in terms of time or space. Let Scripture (to be more precise Romans 14:17-ESV) explain the Scripture…The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit. Look at the amazing sequencing of words in the Holy Spirit inspired Scripture. It is said in Scripture, “B” never comes before “A” or “C” before “B”. It is righteousness first, followed by peace and joy of the Holy Spirit and not the other way around and what exactly is righteousness, if it is not right relationship or standing with God. Oh yes, Dear Friends…Adam and Eve having lost the right relationship with God subsequently lost out on peace and joy of the Holy Spirit too, which they presumably possessed. Kingdom of God Jesus is refereeing to in His maiden sermon, as it were is that precious right relationship with God (from which would stem peace and joy of the Holy Spirit) that the final Adam came to restore between the Creator and the fallen descendents of Adamic race who from birth inherit that same sin-marred nature. And how is that relationship restored? There is no other way other than by repentance (Acts 2:38).

So readers…are we amongst that lot, who are from birth regular Church goers…regular participants in Church activities…yet far from the Head of the Church (who is Christ-Col 1:18) having never entered into a right relationship with Him by way of genuine repentance? Time for introspection…

Tent…

And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at. - Numbers 11:4-5

How far was the presence of the Lord (in the form of Pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day -Exodus 13:21-22) from the tent-dwelling Israelites during their journey towards the Promised Land from Egypt? Close enough for them to see it at any time. But were their hearts one with that of their Eternal benefactor who had not only redeemed from them their cruel Egyptian bondage but was day-in and day-out providing for their needs? No…otherwise there would not be any grumbling or complaining as is evident in the above-captioned Scripture. Our love for God is directly proportional to our humble acceptance of the circumstances He in His sovereign wisdom has placed us in…even if it were…hold your breath… the Cross itself!!!