Bibledoorajar: Standing Before God

     As Moses addressed the people about their latest covenant with God, the Bible says they all stood before Moses as he talked(Deuteronomy 29). But Moses was more than anything trying to help them understand that they were standing in the presence of their Holy God. This same God had laid upon them a law that entailed both blessings and curses. This was not a call from Moses for the people to take a seat, relax and experience joy and safety before the Lord unless they first came to grips with this new culture. They would have no separate dignity among the nations unless they demonstrated that their God was infinitely Holy and that His law showed forth that all the evil in men would end in meaningless death. It would be in the merits of the law and their keeping of it that they could stand. God wanted it inscribed on their hearts in such a way that it impacted their behavior. God did not need a people for a people's sake for indeed He had created all men. He needed a people who would see the value of addressing the laws of God, its' condemnation, and His plans for rescue from it. Many hours were spent perfecting the sacrificial laws that would support them before the living God until Messiah would come. The High Priest carried a great responsibility. All of the requirements were meant to make a great impression on them not just in knowledge but in conviction of heart. He would not be a saving God unless they believed His requirements; they would not be His people without taking Him to heart. This was the aim of the law. Keep it, be justified; do not keep it, be condemned. Without this understanding all the wars, triumphs and losses they would endure would end in no good result.

     Today, we who believe in this same God have seen a great Light. The Holy Spirit has impressed us with the Holy and beautiful image of Jesus Christ, the Great Messiah. We all stand in His presence awaiting a coming judgement day. But for those of us who are aiming at holiness in Jesus we can also feel the dignity of being His people justified and radiating the light of the Lord to the nations. We have sought to renounce every dependence on any thing or any one but our Savior. We are a dignified people because of the merits of Christ. The apostle Paul says that we will all one day stand before God to be judged as to what we have done in the body. Thank God that Jesus will make that a moment, though humbling for sure, one of great joy. A grateful heart standing before God. It is a happy picture.

     Yesterday I saw such a happy heart. A brother, three years out from surviving cancer, stood before a grateful congregation. Moved by the Spirit in heart, he encouraged us all to pray for those battling illness and in need of healing. We knew he meant it because his tears showed us it was a request engraved upon a grateful heart. So, to all in need of healing, I lift you up to the Goodness of our God and Savior and in the gratitude of your fellow believers..