When I read the Old Testament I see the plight of a perfect father who desperately desires relationship with his estranged children.
I liken this to a custody case gone wrong. Think of a loving father. His perfect family was ripped apart due to lies and deceit. Now he is only allowed to be with his children during short windows of supervised visits every other weekend. His burning desire is for a return to perfect relationships, but the law won't allow it.
Look to the Garden of Eden for the proof of his great love. His world was rocked by the fall of man! The only way to maintain relations with his children was through the Abraham covenant and the law. In his perfection he could only be exposed to the mankind through sacrifice. There was no solution for on-going absolution of sin.
Jesus fulfilled the law and cut a new covenant. The new covenant was not a return to perfection, but there was an on-going atonement for sin and a promise of ultimate reconciliation. There's still more to come when Jesus returns!
We have a heavenly father that can be a part of our life outside of supervised visits. It's closer to the relationship he desires, but ultimately he desires to take us home to live with him. Perfection in our relationship is coming.
Why is there all this time between the covenants? I don't know. I think it'll be interesting to see how wrong we have it when Jesus ultimately returns - and it's most likely hilarious!
I liken this to a custody case gone wrong. Think of a loving father. His perfect family was ripped apart due to lies and deceit. Now he is only allowed to be with his children during short windows of supervised visits every other weekend. His burning desire is for a return to perfect relationships, but the law won't allow it.
Look to the Garden of Eden for the proof of his great love. His world was rocked by the fall of man! The only way to maintain relations with his children was through the Abraham covenant and the law. In his perfection he could only be exposed to the mankind through sacrifice. There was no solution for on-going absolution of sin.
Jesus fulfilled the law and cut a new covenant. The new covenant was not a return to perfection, but there was an on-going atonement for sin and a promise of ultimate reconciliation. There's still more to come when Jesus returns!
We have a heavenly father that can be a part of our life outside of supervised visits. It's closer to the relationship he desires, but ultimately he desires to take us home to live with him. Perfection in our relationship is coming.
Why is there all this time between the covenants? I don't know. I think it'll be interesting to see how wrong we have it when Jesus ultimately returns - and it's most likely hilarious!
Wow. What a wonderful insight into our relationship with our Father. This really struck a chord with me. I'd love to know which part of the OT you were reading when you came upon this wonderful revelation (no pun intended!)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I've been in the beginnings of the OT this year (Genesis - Numbers so far) as well as 1 Samuel, but I think these thoughts came more from stepping back and trying to hear the "big picture" of the Message from Papa, not so much a particular passage. Blessings to you! Great photos too!!
ReplyDelete