As a kid I used to think of God sitting up in Heaven on His throne: me down here, Him up there and never the twain shall meet. Growing older, I have come to understand that this is not quite an accurate description. Elements are correct. God is on His throne in Heaven and I am down here. However, it is not a case of never the twain shall meet! He wants us to come and connect with Him.
I was reminded of this the other day when I read the following passage:
“For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathise with our weakness, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin! Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence.” Hebrews 4: 15 & 16
This call to come to God’s throne of grace reminded me of an old hymn we used to sing regularly in my church that helps us to understand this amazing truth. It goes,
“God is still on the throne,
And He will remember His own,
Though trials may press us,
And burdens distress us,
He never will leave us alone.”
He is a God who desires us to connect with Him!
Though our God does reign from His majestic throne in Heaven, He is totally accessible to all of us, all of the time. The lines of communication between God and us are never blocked, never down. When you or I come to God and say, “Be merciful to me God”, this message goes straight through to Him on the throne. His reply is always, “I’m here. Know my grace as you are deeply loved, forgiven, redeemed and set free!” The throne of our God is not only a throne of Holiness but it is also a throne of grace! If it were only a throne of Holiness it would say to us, ‘stay back, you are not worthy of approaching me or this throne.’ A throne of grace says, ‘through Jesus, I will clothe you with robes of righteousness, now come, and come close!’
This is the heart of our God. He does not want to be distant or aloof. He desires that we each come to Him and know the blessing of an intimate relationship with Him.
This is a message of hope we share with our students each day through devotions at the beginning of the day as well us through all of our other activities. It’s an understanding that is foundational part of our community.
My prayer for each member of our community, students, staff and parents is that this day you approach God’s throne through grace and enjoy the close intimate relationship with the one who sits on the throne of Heaven.