“And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” (Mark 15:37-38)
At every change of command ceremony, the new commander will always say to the soldiers of his unit, “The open door policy remains in effect.” In other words, the door to his office is open to any soldier who wants to speak to him.
But that’s a far cry from reality. For no soldier is going to stroll into the commander’s office whenever he or she feels like it. They’ve got to go through their chain of command, beginning with their immediate supervisor and finally through the First Sergeant before they speak with the commander. Days will go by before the soldier ever reaches the commander – if ever. For their problem may be resolved at some lower level. The vast majority of soldiers will only see their commander from a distance.
What a contrast to the Commander of Heaven’s Armies, the Creator of the universe, the God who upholds the existence of everything – from every atom to every galaxy! Through the all-sufficient atonement of Jesus, each of us has immediate access to God. There’s no long and extensive chain of command through which we must maneuver. There’s no multi-level approval process. Through Jesus we come immediately into God’s presence. “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man – the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:3).
Proof of this was witnessed on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. When Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “It is finished” and died (John 19:30), the veil of the temple which had separated sinners from God’s presence for 1,500 years was torn in two (Mark 15:38). Christ’s atoning death put away humanity’s sin, paid the penalty, and opened the way to God’s most sacred presence.
From that moment on, God maintains a real open door policy. No matter how occupied God is running the vast universe, His infinite mind still has immeasurable attention to devote to you. He always welcomes us into His office – as often as we desire to come. God will never grow tired of our “knocking” on His door. He’ll never scold us for not first speaking to our pastor. Nor will He ever badger us for taking so long to bring a matter to Him. Just as the father of the prodigal son ran to welcome him (Luke 15:20), God will run to welcome us. Good luck on getting time with your commander. Why not visit the Highest Power of all? You’re guaranteed to get face to face time with Him.
REFLECTION
- Are you tired of getting the “run-around” from people who really don’t seem interested in your problems?
- Why not turn to the One who truly loves you can cares about you troubles?
- God tells us to cast our burdens and cares upon Him (Psalm 55:22; 2 Peter 3:7).
