amongst

VERGE SA 2015 - Victor Harbor.

Yesterday, one of the girls shared how the idea of tabernacle struck her.  She discovered for the first time that the word 'tabernacle' means 'place of dwelling'.  It struck her as significant that the God of the Universe would choose to dwell in the midst of His people - literally, the tabernacle was set up in the middle of camp.  Whatever the people of Israel faced, God dwelt with them smack bang in the middle of wherever they were - facing whatever they experienced, with them.

My hope today is that as we spend time reflecting through the life of Jesus, that we can begin to come to terms with the beautiful truth that Jesus has come to 'tabernacle' with His people.  To dwell with us - to be with us in the midst of victory and defeat; hope and loss; stress and peace.

"Emmanuel" = "God with us"

The more I think about this picture, the more I wonder whether this thread in God's story is what the story is all about.  God longs to 'be with' us.

I wonder what it would look like for us to shift our thinking from an emphasis on waiting for the day when we will be with God, and towards the emphasis that He is already in the midst of us ...

Yes, it was through His presence in the tabernacle, and it was through His presence in the physical person of Jesus - but this story emphatically leads us to how He is with us today as well.

Ezekial 36; Revelation 21