They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

(Exodus 29.46)

The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John 1.14)

Jesus replied,”If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

(John 14.23)

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “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.

(Revelation 21.3)

I believe that the Bible reveals a unifying narrative, the great plan which God is putting into action in ways which we can’t grasp across time and space. Certain themes occur again and again from the beginning which underpin that plan, themes reflecting God’s character and also what lies behind His breathtaking plan of redemption for us.

At the very beginning, in some early dawn of history, we read of Eden, of that state of perfect communion which God enjoyed with his beloved children as they walked together in the cool of the day. This is what we lost, and are forever seeking, the natural loving companionship of our creator throughout our days. The staggering thing is that God misses it too, that our absence from his immediate presence is a source of such deep agony to him that He will go to incredible lengths to bring us back! I need to ponder this truth more and more, to allow it to heal the places in my heart where I feel worthless, insignificant and a failure. Each and every one of us is priceless in the eyes of our heavenly father – let this be my answer to a world that would discount me for my age, lack of career or obvious achievements, for the ordinariness of my life or the things I struggle with.

In the book of Exodus, God is creating a model which will demonstrate his desire to dwell with his people – a temple or tabernacle – while also showing that the way to communion with him is not yet reopened, and that it is the need to be purified of sin which keeps us separate from him. The sacrificial system, the role of the priests, all speak of the holiness or otherness of God, and of how our rebellion against Him has created a barrier to fellowship. But the overriding desire is clear – He wants to be with us.

With the coming of Jesus, the Word, John tells us that God is beginning to fulfill His great plan, and that the barrier of sin – that fault-line in each one of us – is now being addressed. All the sacrifices of the old system were simply signs, pointing forward to the great sacrifice which would one day be paid – by the perfect Lamb, our flawless Christ. Through faith in Jesus, in His work of salvation and atonement for our sin, we are made whole, restored as places fit for our God to dwell. Does that not leave your mind boggling? King Solomon, in dedicating his wonderful temple, stated quite truthfully that no temple made by human hands could ever be fit or adequate to welcome the Almighty, and yet Jesus says quite simply that He and His Father will make their home with those who love Him.

Think about it, let it astonish you, move you to tears and songs of joy and humble gratitude to the God of all goodness, that He should desire to dwell – not visit, not say hello in passing, but DWELL – with you.

God lives with me, within me, at the very core of my life.. if this is true, then what should follow?

Let me keep no part of my life hidden from God’s loving transforming power to heal and bring glory:

Let my relationships be like an open window, so that the love of God might be seen clearly at work in my life for the blessing of others:

Let me rest utterly in this glorious truth of God’s saving of me – I have nothing to prove or achieve in order to enjoy his presence now, and in unimaginable ways forever, in the new creation.

God has come home to his children, and we will never be alone again.

Lord, I come before your throne of grace: I find rest in your presence and fulness of joy

In worship and wonder I behold your face, singing “What a faithful God have I!”

What a faithful God have I, what a faithful God, What a faithful God have I, faithful in every way!

(Dawn & Robert Critchley 1989)