The Curtain.

I was driving home today from lunch with my mother.  There was nothing out of the ordinary going on.  I was listening to the band Disciple, which has earned a place in my CD collection as the most listened to band while driving (sorry Switchfoot…).  Anyways, I was listening to the song “After the World” (track 7 on Scars Remain).  It’s a powerful song talking about how God loved us before the world began, and will continue to love us after the world is no more.

As I’m driving, we get to the bridge.  The lyrics go like this (keep in mind that it is God speaking here):

Isn’t my life a clear sign?

Since I have crossed over this chasm

To fill the space between me and you

And I will do it all over again

Just look for me, just wait for me.

As the song gets to the part that I bolded, I got this clear image (whether from God directly or from my own mind) or a curtain being ripped in half (it was red and being ripped from top to bottom if you are interested).

My mind is one that’s able to have multiple songs stuck in it at once, and so naturally, I started to sing in my head a song that I can’t find anywhere. The only line that I can remember goes “The curtain is torn in two, so Lord, we run to you.”

Tie these two lines together and you effectively have a conversation between God and Man.

God:  “Isn’t my life a clear sign? Isn’t it clear? Since I crossed over this chasm of sin that separated us? I’ve filled the space between me and you! And I’d do it all again.  I’d die and suffer on the cross. I’d do it for you!”

Man:  “I see that this curtain is torn in two.  There is now no separation between us.  There is now nothing that prevents me from entering the presence of the holy, holy, holy God.  So now, Lord, I run to you!”

 

This dropped me to my knees (only metaphorically though because I was driving).

 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever ever*! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

 

 

 

 

*did you catch the ever ever in the verse? Yup that’s right. God is eternal  :)

Pit Pit

I saw Disciple at Creation Fest this past week. Their guitarists creep me out, but their lead singer has such passion for Christ and music.  He shared with us, before singing After the World, something about Jewish literature.  On the web, we use bold, italics, and capital letters to emphasize a point.  Hebrew authors would use a word twice.  For example, someone can fall into a pit, or they can fall into a pit pit.  If you fall into a pit, you’re in trouble, but if you fall into a pit pit, you’re in trouble trouble.

We serve a holy God.  He is holy.

But, not only is he holy, he is also holy, holy. He is a whole lot of holy.

To top it off though, not only is he holy, holy, but he is Holy, Holy, Holy.

 

Imagine a really big pit. The biggest pit that you can.  So big that it’s a pit pit.

 

Got that in your head?

 

Ok. Make it bigger.

 

Imagine something that is holy, holy

Now make it even more holy.

 

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty. Who was and is and is to come.