Skip to main content

God Dwelling With Us

  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.

God will dwell with them;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them and be their God;"

From Rev. 21:1-6

Sometimes I just feel like starting over.

That’s especially true when Reflections On My Elder Road doesn’t seem to come together with a hopeful, helpful message.

What makes it more confusing is that we seem to be living in apocalyptic times, when everything feels out of sorts and spinning out of control.

That’s when I get another cup of coffee, prayerfully meditate on nature outside my study window, and begin again.

The starting over part begins when I apply 3 principles.

First, I research, as much as possible, the original language of the text.

There I find out that John, the writer uses the Greek verb aperchomai meaning depart, so heaven and earth have departed.

In the meantime, a new earth and heaven will come down from God.

God comes to us.

Second, The Greek preposition, meta, meaning with, is lost in translation.

God is with us, dwells with us, will be with us.

Third, the words “home” and “dwell” are literally translated as tent.

See, the tent of God is among mortals, God will tent with them as their God…

For me, a powerful section of these verses is the image of God wiping away tears.

In our apocalyptic times when life seems to spin out of control, God’s tent is set up among us.

God has come to dwell among God’s people, even in our moments of pain and suffering.

What an image of hope!

God bringing a new earth and heaven, God’s tent among us, God comforting us.

What a vision of redemption!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grantchester's Warning

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, the owner would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (from Luke 12:32-40 ) I regularly watch Grantchester; a murder mystery set in 1950s England. The main characters are a local detective and an Anglican priest who, as a team, solve mysteries set in the town. Two aspects of Grantchester impress me. First, the simplicity of the 1950’s police communications done by a landline phone and not cell phone. Second, the simplicity of daily life with little television and fewer possessions allowing the characters to focus on their vocation of detective and priest. This simplicity is more than a nostalgic return to the “good old days”. Instead, it’s a Shaker type of simplicity where austerity allows freedom from distractions to focus on worship and community. Today’s distraction-filled world has seemingly countless activ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walking with God

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. (from Ps.103:1-8 ) Thomas Merton, American Trappist monk, writer and theologian, once asked himself a question he immediately answered:   How does an apple ripen? The apple, by simply being in the sun, fulfills its purpose of ripening, The apple doesn't try to ripen faster, it simply allows the sun to do its work.   There is nothing it can do to ripen itself. It can’t do workouts, tighten its muscles and then suddenly be a red, ripened, juicy apple in the morning. The apple just hangs on the branch in the sun, naturally ripening, where it receives its daily nourishment. This is the basic plan for how Christians ripen in their relationship to God. The difference is that Christians don’t naturally ripen in their relationship to God, we have to place themselves where we can be nourished. The beginning place of nourishment I find most helpful is the Guide to Prayer For All Who Walk With God. The daily walk in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus, Deliverance, and Demons

"Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind." (from Luke 8:26-39 ) Astrid is a streaming program I often watch. The plot is a basic cops and robbers action until the criminal is caught. The uniqueness of the program is Astrid, who is on the Autism spectrum, is brilliant at solving puzzles including connecting clues to solve the crime. Watching this program has given me a more profound insight to people living with this condition and their acceptance in society. My first-hand experience with children on the Spectrum was driving a Special Needs school bus for 6 years. With this experience, I can imagine the life the possessed man was experiencing, especially living among the tombs, bound with chains and shackles, having to live in the wilds. It was no wonder he cried for mercy. Jesus, with his power and mercy, cast the demons out and even...
Post a Comment
Read more