I've been thinking about something the past few days. My buddy Ray said something in home group Sunday that was really cool. In the Old Testament it says that The Israelites regained possession the Ark of the Covenant back from their enemies. They where returning home with it on an ox cart. (A side note... this was an improper way to carry the ark. It was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests.) The ark was a serious item. It housed God's presence on the earth. So carrying it so loosely was quite an insult to God.
So the men of Israel are rolling into town with their great prize, sure to be heroes for getting it back. The bible says while they are traveling the cart shifts, and the ark starts to fall, sure to hit the ground. One of the men of Israel named Uzzah puts his hands up to steady the ark and keep it from falling, and God strikes him down dead right there just for touching it. Dang that seems hardcore!!! When I read that I thought, what kind of God would do that? The guy was just trying to keep God's box from falling! But the truth is if David (the king) would have done the right thing by having the priest carry it that would have never happened.
Okay so here's the point, we act like the men of Israel all the time. We neglect and abuse the vessel that houses God all the time. We're even as bold as Uzzah in crossing the line with God's vessels. God no longer lives in a box, He lives in people. How many people do we abuse and forget they are the temple of God everyday? That puts the value of others in perspective. A great saint once said "be kind to all men for they are all in a great battle."
When I used to read the line in the beatitudes that said, " Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God" I thought, "That's nice. If I have a pure heart, I will be closer to seeing Jesus." Maybe that's true but the bible says that we are the body of Christ and that being true I must remind myself that scriptures sometimes have deeper meanings. I realized it's easy to have a pure heart toward God. He knows us in and out. What else can we have? We can't fool Him, just ourselves. Here's a tougher thought, how much harder is it to see God in people without having a pure heart toward them? Offense, bitterness unforgiveness, prejudice, racism are all things that cloud our view of others. We must wade through that stuff to see God in people. One thing is true there in blessing in doing that. We can receive God out of one another when we do that.
Last thought, the bible says in all three Johns if we don't love people, we don't love God, Flat out. Period. No spinning that.
That's a wake up call to me. It should be to all of us. Am I saying we should be tolerating everything every man does? No, but we sure should try to err on the side of love in all things. We should carry and treat people properly. Remember we are all in a great battle. If we could do this I bet we'd see, hear, and know God a lot more that we do now. Selah.
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