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Sometimes when I am reading, a sentence will seem to leap right off the page, as if it is in large, glowing letters. That happened this week when I was reading some commentary on part of the Bible. The author wrote that the reason for the tabernacle — and later the temple — was because people keep forgetting that God is near.

That stopped me in my tracks. I know, mentally, that God is near. But am I really aware of it in my heart and soul? I have Bible and prayer time every morning, but do I ever even think of him as I go about the rest of my day?

Imagine you are going about your usual day. Doing housework, running errands, maybe attending a meeting. Now imagine that your best friend is with you all day, at your side through all of it. Would you ignore them? Go about your business without ever speaking to them?

My guess is that you would be very much aware of them. You would chat with them, laugh over funny things, whisper comments to them during the meeting. “Look at that!” you might say, pointing out something as you were driving. You’d probably comment about other people you encountered. You’d share your thoughts.

I think this is the kind of relationship God wants to have with us. He used to walk in the garden with Adam and Eve and chat with them. In Revelation we learn that after God creates the new heaven and new earth, there will be no temple because God will live among us. One of Jesus’ titles, Immanuel, means “God with us.” Psalm 145:18 assures us that “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all  who call on him in truth.”

Paul told the Thessalonians to “pray continually.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) In other words: Talk to God. Not just at set times and places, but throughout the day. Paul also said to rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances. I think those go together — if you are rejoicing about something, you’re going to want to thank God for whatever it is. Right then. Just as would happen if a friend handed you a gift; you would spontaneously thank them right then, in that moment.

God told the Israelites that they would be his people and he would dwell with them. The tabernacle he directed them to make was to be a physical, visible reminder that he was in their midst. He was in the innermost, most holy space, which was separated from everybody by a heavy curtain. Only the High Priest could go in there, and only at certain times. That same plan was followed later in the Temple. But when Jesus died on the cross, that heavy curtain was ripped right down the middle — from the top down. God was declaring that through Jesus, everybody can have direct access to him now.

“We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain,” the writer of Hebrews assures us. (Hebrews 10:19, 20) And Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “In him [Jesus] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence,”

I used to think of God as being up in heaven somewhere far away, looking down on us. While thinking about this idea of him being next to me and being open to a chat all day long, I realized now that I often still think of him that way — way off above me somewhere. And sometimes I feel like I’m not very important, or that my thoughts aren’t important to him. But those feelings are not true. Jesus said, “Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:30-31) I am important to God. He has engraved me on the palms of his hands (Isaiah 49:16) and he has summoned me by name (Isaiah 42:1). Nearly every verse in the Bible is God shouting out to us, “I love you! And I want to have you with me.”

It turns out that the only distance between me and God is the distance I have created in my own mind. It’s up to me to do away with that. I’ve already thanked him for the joy it gives me to share my thoughts with all of you in this little monthly letter. Now I’m excited about all the things I want to share with him — all through the day.