God's Dwelling

  During the really cold weather two women evangelists came knocking on my door.  One asked me to read a Scripture from one of the prophets.  It promised a bad reward for those who are evil and a good reward for those who are good.  The woman asked me, "Isn't that good news?"  I replied, "It's not good news for the evil."  "Oh," she said, "I meant for you to read another verse."  This one was about the Kingdom of God.  So she asked, "Where do you think the Kingdom of God is?"  I replied, "It's here on earth."  But said disagreed.  She said, "I think if you read the Scriptures more closely you'll find that the Kingdom of God is in heaven."  
  "Jesus came to bring the Kingdom of God on earth, and He did," I responded.  "We don't see the fullness of it yet, but it is here all around us."  The other woman with her was considering this, but the woman speaking would have none of it.  So I continued, "Not only is the Kingdom of God all around us it is also within us."  Having given them a little something to think about, I bid them farewell after complimenting them for their tenacity in being out on such a cold day.
  I was reminded of this by reading two Scriptures this morning.  Psalm 132:7 "Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool" and Revelation 21:3, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."  For me these two verses bring up contradictory images:  either we go to God's dwelling or he comes to us.  The psalmist was thinking of going to the Ark of the Covenant where God dwelt.  In Revelation, the author is speaking of his vision of the new Jerusalem where there is no Ark of the Covenant, no temple building because Jesus himself is the Ark, the Temple and he is among and within his people. There is no separation between God and his people.

  For reflection:  Today let us secure ourselves in the heart of God, listening to the Father's heartbeat.  
  Let us pray in rhythm with the heartbeat:  Love you.  Love you.  Love you.

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