When I was a kid, I would sing dumb little lines like this one over an over again. It was fun though, to try to walk all the way home from the bus stop, not stepping on one crack. As hard as it was, there were times that I was sure that something bad would happen to my mom if I failed her! I'm not sure that I ever did it successfully, not necessarily that I stepped on a crack, I probably just let my ADD mind get distracted again... And don't worry, my mom's okay! She is probably seeking medical treatment, but more from what I put her through growing up than from back pain!I have been reading a lot of Old Testament passages lately about the lengths that the Levites(Old Testament Priests) would go through to get prepared to meet with God. God gave them, through Moses and Aaron, all kinds of regulations of how to keep themselves pure before coming to the temple. They were to wash in such a way, and wear certain clothes, and keep from touching certain things. All of these commandments were given to the people, in the words of God, "So that they will not die." Not, so that they will receive a blessing, or so that they'll be happy. "So that they will not die." God meant business!
The Levites took the presence of God so seriously that when the High Priest went into the Most Holy Place, he wore a rope around his ankle and bells on the bottom of his robe. That way, if for some reason, ANY reason, he wasn't completely cleansed, and his disobedience before God caused his death, the other priests could still retrieve the robe he wore without entering into the Most Holy Place themselves.
What reverence. Makes me think twice about coming to the presence of God with something against my Christian Brother, or unconfessed sin, or with a rebellious heart. You should also decide that before you come to the presence of God, you purify your sacrifice. Don't be haughty or hasty with the presence of God. Walk carefully into His presence. Don't step on a crack!
3 comments:
I totally agree- a lot of times I think the church today emphasizes the phrase "come just as you are", but there's danger in that too. It's true that we don't need to be perfect to enter into a relationship with Christ, but we can't be careless about it either. God is a holy God, and he desires us to continuously grow in him- if we're not doing that, then we don't deserve to be in his presence anyways.
Michael, my back is fine. Glad your superstitions have gone away.
Love you to the moon, Mom
Thanks, Mom. I've been listening to this book on CD, "Velvet Elvis". It's really great and I'd totally recommend it for everyone to read--christian or not. It basically just describes what the journey of the Christian is... We're all fallen, in different stages of spiritual and emotional restoration... none better, or higher than another... NONE of us having done anything that deserves the presence of God. I think we get really haughty, and prideful, feeling good about where we are in God, but the danger is in coming to the place where we no longer grieve over our own sin. Maybe even a worse place to be is when we compare our sin to another in or outside the body of Christ.
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