“And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:19-25 NLT
The command to draw near should not be taken lightly. It is a complete reversal of the Eden narrative. Whereas Adam’s sun caused a gap between God and man to need intercession, Christ restored, and even bettered, that link. Beyond this, the effect was cumulative. All the bonds broken by Adam’s sin can now be restored as well. Therefore, drawing near to God means drawing near to his creation. This means neglecting to do so is effectively seeking to undo his work. In the greater scheme of things, Christians become the new high priests for Creation. They now intercede as the high priest once did. Functioning as Christ’s body under his federal headship, they can confidently enter the holy of holies and plead for others without the need to cleanse their own sin or make sacrifices. They can truly draw near. This is, indeed, good news. It also is heavy news. It comes with a cost of being like the one who is worthy. We must take on Christ to be him at the temple. In addition to his righteous behavior, he actively closed all gaps to bring everyone into submission to his commands. We ought to do the same in our own lives as we beckon the people around us to draw near.
JOSH McGARY.COM 