As the Bible tells us in Matthew and Mark, the moment Jesus died on the cross, the veil inside the temple was rent (torn in two) from top to bottom. The purpose of the veil was to separate the holy sanctuary of the temple from the most holy place…the place where only the high priest was allowed to enter…and he only once a year. In other words, the veil separated the people from God. Once Jesus died for our sins, that separation was no longer there. Jesus, the Son, came in order to reunite the people with God, the Father.
Because of Jesus’ intercession for us, we can now come boldly to the throne and, through Him, have full access to the Father. I think sometimes we fail to fully understand and fail to take advantage of this access. If we need reassurance, He is there. If we need guidance, He provides it. If we just need to vent, He’s there for that too.
Too often we let other things…the veils of life…separate us from God. Life today, with all its conveniences, is so fast paced it’s hard to meet all our responsibilities. With both parents working, the kids often have to fend for themselves. For the working Mom it is especially hard to raise a family. The little one has a field trip and needs a lunch packed, the middle one has a dentist appointment, and the older one has football practice. The dishes have to be washed, the laundry done, there’s a PTO meeting in the evening and Dad has to work late…Where in all this activity is there time for prayer, Bible reading and quiet time with God?
Sometimes we put up a veil because we have been offended or our feelings have been hurt and we just don’t want to hear God’s opinion about how we feel right now. We know He wants us to forgive, but we’re not quite ready to do that yet. If we wait too long, finding our way back is not always easy and bitterness sets in. The veil gets heavier.
Sometimes worries separate us from God. As Christians, our first action at the sight of problems should be to seek Him and His guidance, but we sometimes put Him off until all our own efforts have failed. We go to bed worried and wake up with the same problems the next day. The Bible tells us it shouldn’t be this way. Matthew 6:31-33 tells us: Therefore, take no thought , saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or How shall we be clothed?. 32…for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 BUT, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Remember, the veil (the separation from God) no longer exists. God wants us to seek Him and ask for His help. He wants a relationship with us… not a relationship as that between a King and his servants, but as a father and his child. He knows what we need, but He wants us to ask; to include Him in the decisions we make and to share in our joy as well. Matthew 7: 7-10 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 8 For every one that asks receives; he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. 9 Or what man among you, whom if his son asks bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent?
Let us search our hearts and ask Him to reveal to us anything that might be hindering our walk with Him. Any time we separate ourselves from God it allows the devil a chance to influence us. That old enemy is always lurking and ready to pounce. James 4: 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
As Paul said to the Romans “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good , and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
May all the veils of life be torn in two, as we learn to come boldly before the throne and ask, in the name of Jesus, whatever we need in order to serve Him better.
