There is always tension between the outworking of God’s promises and the present reality. As has happened in the past, history has a way of shaking our confidence in the existence of a God who cares for us. Questions come: Why has God allowed this to happen? Is God listening to my prayers?
Our Sovereign Creator is always working and near. “God is always coming,” says Carlo Caretto. “God is always coming because God is life, and life is the unbridled force of creation. God comes because God is light and light cannot be hidden.” [1]
Our story is one of hope because it is the story of a God who is always coming.
In the beginning, God creates a cosmic temple which is filled with His presence. The image of God is the divine imprint God placed upon humanity, identifying each person as a special creation. In Eden, God dwelt with His people who were His agents to rule over His world as they multiplied and filled the earth.
Despite humanity’s rejection of God’s right to rule their lives and the catastrophic impact on the whole cosmos, God comes to Abraham promising that through him would come the One who would put everything right. Israel, God’s rescued-from-slavery people, are called to worship and love Him. The Temple, the focal point of creation in the heart of Jerusalem was “designed as a small working model of the entire cosmos.” [2]
The temple where God put His name, His presence and His glory was a signpost to the deeper reality that God’s desire is to dwell with humanity. The Temple was to also be a house of prayer for all nations. [3] As Israel lived God’s way in the land, their communal lives would flourish. Their nation where God ruled would be a light to the surrounding nations.
Despite Israel’s failure to live up to their high calling, God comes to us in the person of Jesus. Jesus is Immanuel, the Word becomes flesh and ‘tabernacles’ among us, full of grace and truth. [4]
Jesus is the human temple, [5] where the heaven and earth reality has come together in His birth. Through his shameful death and resurrection, He has reconciled all things to the Creator. The ancient hope that the glory of God would fill the whole earth is coming true. Through the Gospel and the coming of the Spirit, God is putting people right with Himself so they may become like Jesus and be agents of transformation.
This is truly an amazing story, “a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.” [6]
Our groaning world is emerging into new life as God’s people are sent to be agents of re-creation under the rule of Jesus. “The triune Lord of Creation who is the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among human beings, has invited all who would follow Him to enter into what the Triune Lord of creation is doing.” [7]
In our current context how can we assist our students to see the reality of God’s Kingdom in their midst? It is a world where things are being reconciled, a world of gratitude and wonder and a world where love looks like the Lord Jesus who gave His life a ransom for many and is now alive. It looks like a new community where each one lives sacrificially for the others. In the midst of global pain, suffering and death the Lord Jesus comes. He reaches out with nail-pierced hands to heal the broken-hearted and to bind up wounds even though the pain may still persist, His indwelling presence is there for us and our students.
For our story is that God always comes.
Grace and Peace
The Team
The Excellence Centre
[1] Caretto, C. The God who comes (1974) pg3
[2] Wright, NT. Paul – A Biography pg48
[3] Isaiah 56:7
[4] John 1:14
[5] John 2:19
[6] Peck, S. The Road Less Travelled (1990, 2003, 2012)
[7] Fisher, M. 2008