Saturday, November 05, 2005
So many times we fear authority figures even if we know they are not harmful to us. Take, for instance, the policeman. When we drive past one we check our speedometer, because we don't want a speeding ticket. But when we're vandalized the policeman is our rescuer.
When I was a manager I would have private office conversations with my staff all the time. We would meet weekly, and some of them daily. They were happy if they initiated the meeting, but if I came by them and asked them to meet in my office, they were scared. They wracked their brain to see what they may have done wrong. It was usually to tell them that they were reimbursed for some expenses, or give them a client compliment, or follow up on a previous conversation, or just build a relationship with them. Very rarely were they "in trouble". But there was just something about "the authority figure" wanting to talk with them. You know, the many times that my manager called me into her office I often felt the same thing. Usually it was to ask for my help on a computer program. No big deal. But it seemed hard to remember that the next time her tone was serious as she called me in.
In the Old Testament, priests went into the Holy of Holies once a year (if I remember that correctly). They went on behalf of the Jewish nation. It was an amazing, but scary experience. He had to go through intense purification rituals first, because no unclean thing was allowed. He also had bells tied onto him so that once he went into the inner sanctuary alone, people outside could hear if he was still moving...a.k.a.: still alive. He had a rope tied to his leg, so that if he was smitten (a.k.a.: killed) he could be pulled out. No one was allowed to go in to get him. How's that for a scary way to meet God?
I think of prayer and our relationship with God. Jesus became our high priest. He was our purification sacrifice. He gave himself in every way, to us and to God. He has made it so that we are able to come before God every day, not just once a year. He represents us, as we bring Him with us. Because of this we "come boldly before the throne of grace". No need to fear. Nothing too scary. He wants to build the relationship.
When I was a manager I would have private office conversations with my staff all the time. We would meet weekly, and some of them daily. They were happy if they initiated the meeting, but if I came by them and asked them to meet in my office, they were scared. They wracked their brain to see what they may have done wrong. It was usually to tell them that they were reimbursed for some expenses, or give them a client compliment, or follow up on a previous conversation, or just build a relationship with them. Very rarely were they "in trouble". But there was just something about "the authority figure" wanting to talk with them. You know, the many times that my manager called me into her office I often felt the same thing. Usually it was to ask for my help on a computer program. No big deal. But it seemed hard to remember that the next time her tone was serious as she called me in.
In the Old Testament, priests went into the Holy of Holies once a year (if I remember that correctly). They went on behalf of the Jewish nation. It was an amazing, but scary experience. He had to go through intense purification rituals first, because no unclean thing was allowed. He also had bells tied onto him so that once he went into the inner sanctuary alone, people outside could hear if he was still moving...a.k.a.: still alive. He had a rope tied to his leg, so that if he was smitten (a.k.a.: killed) he could be pulled out. No one was allowed to go in to get him. How's that for a scary way to meet God?
I think of prayer and our relationship with God. Jesus became our high priest. He was our purification sacrifice. He gave himself in every way, to us and to God. He has made it so that we are able to come before God every day, not just once a year. He represents us, as we bring Him with us. Because of this we "come boldly before the throne of grace". No need to fear. Nothing too scary. He wants to build the relationship.
// posted by Annette @ 11:44 p.m. 