By: Randi Short
As children in an earthly environment, we all search for something more! The fact is that Christ opens His arms up to let us get to know Him. He desires a greater and deeper relationship with all!
But how do we get to know God? Is He right there at all times? You may be thinking, “What special thing do I have to do to ‘gain’ access to God?”
Want to know the truth? God has already given us a path to follow in getting to know Him!
Let’s go back in time a bit. How about stopping at the third book in the bible: Leviticus 16:3-5.
“When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering. Then he must wash his entire body and put on his linen tunic and the undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are his sacred garments. The people of Israel must then bring him two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering.”
Can you imagine this? In order to get to God, they had to go through all of these rituals, and even more…… this is just the beginning.
Think of it now. God sent Jesus all the way to earth to die for us. Sound nice? Yeah, let’s read it again. GOD SENT JESUS all the way to EARTH to DIE FOR US! Get the point? Jesus is here. He came, He lived, He died, He resurrected, and He lives. Because of this, we don’t have to go through all the rituals that Aaron and his people went through. He came to overcome sin, so that we might draw close to Him! In dying, He became the ultimate sacrifice so we don’t have to get a bull to sacrifice or a goat. Get me? Because Jesus lives, we can draw near to Him!
Now with that said, let’s go further. Because we have established the fact that we have the ability to get to God, what’s holding us back? It’s not God, so it must be us, as humans. How can we draw near to God, or how can we “access” God?
One way is through worship! As creator, God is worthy of all worship, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:11) Worship is not flattering God so that we get something from Him (Malachi 3:14), it’s not an escape from our problems (Psalms 73:16-17, Psalms 26), and it’s not an empty ritual (Matthew 15:8-9). When we worship the walls of sin break down, the walls of shame, fear and hate; when we worship, truly worship, our lives become transformed.
Another way is through prayer. Prayer is the communication between us and God. Think about it in earthly terms. Who is someone that you really, really love? Your parents? Brother? Sister? Husband? Wife? Or, who is your best friend? In either case, how would the relationship go between both of you if you never talked? If you went three or four days without talking to your friend or husband/wife, would you feel as if that relationship was deteriorating? God feels the same way. He longs to talk to you, He longs for you to come to Him, and just talk. Prayer is not a bunch of garble, it’s not a life jacket to be used only in times of trouble, prayer is also not when you come before God and say, “God you see this situation, please fix it, you see this person, please heal them, you see my big toe, yea, I stubbed it earlier, it’s really, really red, could you fix that too. Thank you. Amen. Oh wait God, I forgot, I have a test tomorrow, yea, I’m not going to study, but God could you help me get 100% or at least 90%. Amen!” You know, when we mention the name of Jesus, He doesn’t stand off far away and say, “We’ll see what happens before I go to meet with my child.” As soon as we call on the name of Jesus, AS SOON, He jumps out of His seat, “my child needs me. My child wants to talk to me. My child is calling my name!” And what is it we do most times? We present our “grocery list” to God, and get up and walk back away, leaving God there saying, “where has my child gone? I thought he/she needed me. I thought they had called my name. Where have they gone? Are they hiding?” You see, prayer is a way of access to God. When we come before God, and pray humbly, He answers us, and shows us His face!
Another way to “get to God,” is through Reading the Word, and Meditation. Many times we get out the word, and we sit down and we’ll read a line or two, or maybe a chapter. Then what? Oh yea, let’s get up and leave. We don’t think about it, we don’t meditate on it. We read it as if it were just another book. And I’m not dissing this. Reading God’s word is precious, but if we truly want to know God, have an open door relationship with Him, we need to do more than that. When we study the word of God, the Holy Spirit reveals truths to us, that we never would have seen before. Reveals truths about how we live, the things we need to change, what we should do in life, and reveals to us who Jesus is!
You see, getting to God, or “gaining access” to God, does require time and energy. But there is nothing we need more than to totally focus on Jesus, especially in the day that we’re living. God has given us the opportunity in sending His Son, He made living for Him more than rituals and rules, and all He asks in return is for us to walk humbly after Him, worshipping, praying and reading His word, getting to know Him without putting on faces!
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