THIS IS THE PLACE

When studying the bible there are many noticeable contrasts between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Some Christians obviously prefer the New Testament because they feel it is more applicable to the Christian life. Of course what isn’t mention at times is that there are portions, such as the ones chronicling genealogies or giving a litany of laws we aren’t expected to keep that do seem hard to relate to in our own walk of faith.

However the Old Testament for me has a special value in ways that I personally find inspiring. With the New Testament the focus point is Christ and the essential of spirituality in our relationship with him and eternity. The present life is mainly relevant in terms more of preparation for eternity rather than something that should be our consuming priority. I’m not sure all the prosperity advocates would accept that comment, but for me I think our eyes were intended to be more focused on Heaven than this life as part of our walk of faith.

And for me it is the element of historical reflection that aids me in my walk of faith when reading the Old Testament. With the New Testament the heroes of faith are only shown in part. We don’t get to see the fullness of their lives. We do get the benefit of being able to see a great deal of the live of the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts, but as for the rest it is mainly a glimpse.

With the Old Testament we are often given a chance to see enough of a certain person’s life to see their strengths and weakness. To be able to see how their life of faith wasn’t perfect and gleam some inspiration from how God in his loving grace continued to strive with some even when they failed him as we do.

For me that gives comfort and hope. Not that I dare to suggest that I in anyway feel worthy of putting myself in the same category with such heroes of faith, merely that their example gives me joy to know how much God loves us and is willing to let us follow him even if we can’t do it as perfectly as our heart might desire.

Now with that as the backdrop, it is the concept of “this is the place” that came to mind. I’m speaking mainly in terms of the idea of God’s calling upon our lives. The “place” was more clearly evident in the case of some Old Testament saints such as Abraham where it applied to a given location where God set aside for him.

On the spiritual side, the actual location wasn’t as important as its purpose as a place to test and refine one’s trust in the Lord. Thus it is never a place necessarily of rest and one free from challenges.

The people of Israel found this out with the “promised land.” They discovered that it was going to take a lot of faith and effort to possess what God had promised them. And thus contrary to what some think, the promised land really wasn’t a symbol for heaven if one understands its real purpose.

And so it is in our lives also. There is that “place” where God will send us either in terms of a calling or other aspect of our experience. While we might want to revel in it being nothing, but a blessing, we can’t lose sight that it is in reality a locale of trust. Keeping that in proper perspective often is the difference between possessing the land in faith and simply squatting there tell some circumstance forces us to move on. I pray we will always know the difference.