If God isn’t real, then nothing matters.
If God is real, then nothing else matters.
God is all that matters.
Only God Matters
The Day We’re Not Trying
The day we’re not scared of the changes we’re making
Is the day we’re not really trying
Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 40:20-29
20 And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the Lord commanded Moses.
22 And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the veil.
23 And he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord; as the Lord had commanded Moses.
24 And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
25 And he lighted the lamps before the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.
26 And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the veil:
27 And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the Lord commanded Moses.
28 And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle.
29 And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the Lord commanded Moses.
As mentioned recently, this description of the tabernacle’s parts is different from every run-through that we’ve had thus far. This time, in addition to hearing all of the items and their placement, we are also hearing each of their functions being exercised. The Ark of the Covenant is a container, and so the testimony is now placed into it. The table is to hold the shewbread, and so now the bread is baked and placed thereon. The candlestick is to provide light, and so now its lamps are lighted. The golden altar is for offering incense, and so now the incense is burned upon it. The brass altar is for animal sacrifice, so now a meat offering is made.
Everything is fulfilling its purpose, filling the measure of its creation, made complete by being allowed to do the thing that it was made to do. Everything in God’s world has a purpose and a function. Plants and animals, mountains and valleys, fire and water, gravity and buoyancy, soil and sky. None of these are just an adornment, they all are made to serve a necessary function. Their systems combine to make life, complexity, and beauty possible.
And if such is true for the tabernacle and all the earth, surely it is true of us as well. We are made for a purpose. Fulfilling that purpose is the difference between merely existing and truly living. It takes us from saying, “I just am,” to “I am for a reason.”
Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 26:4-6
4 And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second.
5 Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another.
6 And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.
From yesterday’s verses we heard the design of ten curtains, and how five of them would be joined together along their long edges to make one larger, almost-square curtain, and the same would be done for the other five.
These two halves would now need to be joined together, the manner of which being detailed in today’s verses. First, they would stitch loops of blue along both edges to be united, then there would be taches—which are two sided hooks—that could hold onto a loop from one curtain on one side, and the loop from the other curtain on the other side.
This, of course, this raises the question: if we were going to stitch five curtains together into a half, and five curtains together into another half, why not just stitch all ten together into a whole? Why depend on this less-permanent loop-and-hook system? I can see three reasons.
The first is that the two halves may have been more practical. We know that the Israelites moved many times during their wandering in the wilderness, and the tabernacle had to be disassembled, carried, and reassembled wherever they went. It may well be that rolling/folding and carrying two twenty-cubit by twenty-eight-cubit pieces of cloth was more manageable than a forty-cubit by twenty-eight-cubit piece of cloth.
The second is that there may have been some symbolism in the design. The joining of two in one brings to mind the union of God and man, held together in many places, each hook representing a promise, a covenant, a ritual, or a sacrifice that existed between the two. The visible split between the two also calls to mind the tear that would be made by the spear in Jesus’s side. I’m sure there are other symbolic interpretations that could be thought of as well.
The third comes from verse 33 in this chapter, in which we will hear that these taches were to rest above the inner veil that separated the holy place from the most holy place. Having a physical divide may have allowed for this outer curtain to have a holy portion and a most holy portion, in accordance with the rest of the interior.
Speaking of the placement of this joined curtain, its position in relation to the rest of the tabernacle is not specified in today’s verses. In the following passages we will hear of an almost-identical curtain, though, and that one we are explicitly was laid over the wood-and-gold framework of the tabernacle like a tent covering. It is assumed that it was therefore the same for this first covering, as that seems to be the only thing that its size matches up to.
Note: It can be difficult to visualize some of the structures described in these verses. Here is an excellent and extremely focused series of animations that show the visual form of the temple and its instruments, built up verse-by-verse from the Exodus record: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpjohncRg94EZ55nJrbaKfi-lfeo3MFgl&si=6wm1J9Sdnu7LKYC_
No Purpose Without Striving
There are those who try to forever remain in their favorite period of life. Some look backwards, trying to recapture the glory days of High School. Some look forward, trying to hurry themselves into retirement and empty nesting. Their great goal is to reach the most comfortable or most exciting chapter of life and repeat it over and over.
Which means that their life is already over.
If you wish to freeze life at a specific point, then obviously there is nothing more to discover in that life. The story is done, the development is over, the new adventures are ended, and the meaning is already passed.
Life has no purpose without change. Far better that we look for fresh battles to fight, for new improvements to make, for novel achievements to accomplish, for unresolved wrongs to right, and for original healing to give. We should ever be striving to be better than what we are, so that our best self is not already behind us.
It is in striving that we keep our story moving forward, in trying that we find meaning.
The Air is Getting Thinner
Just Letting Go)
Sometimes I’m actively, vibrantly living with purpose. I’m trying to identify what my calling is, what God put me here for, what sort of person He wants me to be, and I’m trying to fill that measure day-by-day.
And then at other times, in many times, I just kind of give up on trying and coast. I fill my spare time with mindless media, ignore my personal health, let the house get messy, and don’t really contribute anything to the world.
I feel very disturbed by how low I can go when I just stop trying. I would have hoped that when I tried to coast I would still have a basically meaningful life, but I really don’t feel that way at all. When I stop striving I feel like I drop into a godless world, something vain and artificial and inconsequential. The only options seem to be constant striving or descending into absolute nihilism.
Worldly Decline)
And as I look around at the world, I don’t think I’m the only one this happens to. I think we are experiencing this sharp dichotomy as an entire society. Our world has become more godless and quality everywhere is in decline. Our stories are less creative, our vocabulary is diminishing, our aspirations are waning. We live for Netflix and food delivery and the latest iPhone, leaving behind community, achievement, and virtue.
I believe that we were once a more Godly, more purposeful sort of people. Even if someone tried to let go of God they would still find themselves living a relatively meaningful life because they lived in a cultural atmosphere that was richer and deeper, where the base expectations were higher. Now, though, there is so little standard left to hold you up once you let yourself go. In other words, the air is getting thinner, so you have got to have your own oxygen mask, you can’t rely on breathing what you get from the culture.
Perhaps Jesus saw this when he gave the parable of the 10 wise virgins. In the darkest part of the night we’re just not going to get by with coasting. We have to be intentional about living in connection to God and with purpose, or we will die.
The Right Suffering
The Right Suffering is Better Than the Wrong Comfort
How to Get the Praise You Deserve: Part Seven
Seeking the Approval of God)
Thus far in this series I have discussed our need for approval and validation in our lives, how we can accomplish some of this through self-care, and how these needs are only completely satisfied when they come from God. We’ve since moved on to considering ways that we can feel that approval of God in our lives.
I have looked at how we receive God’s approval by keeping His commandments, and this is important, but gospel living is meant to be more proactive than simply avoiding forbidden fruits. In my experience, the place where I feel God’s pleasure the most is when I go beyond merely following commandments and actually start trying to put good into the world.
A Glorious Purpose)
A key plot point in the film Chariots of Fire is Eric Liddell’s desire to be useful to God, while also pursuing a running career. He and his sister have committed themselves to a life of ministry and missionary work, and she is concerned that he is starting to lose his spiritual conviction, being seduced by the pull of fame and worldly praise.
Eric reassures his sister that this is not the case at all. He tells her “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” With this frame of mind, Eric trains for and ultimately wins gold at the 1924 Olympics. Along the way, his convictions to God are tested, but Eric remains faithful. The press highlights this drama in the papers, spreading abroad the story of the athlete who is first and foremost a man of God. After the Olympics, Eric does become a missionary, and the experiences he shared while running help him to give glory to God wherever he goes.
Eric’s sister’s concerns are understandable. Athletic prowess is a way that people can become self-centered and pursue their own glory, but as Eric attested, for him running was the way that he felt the pleasure of God. It was a special bond that they shared, a tool to further the kingdom. Given these facts, it was not only permissible for Eric to run, it was imperative!
Hidden Talents)
In Matthew 25, Jesus recounts the parable of the talents. In the story, a ruler leaves to a far country, and before he goes, he distributes his wealth to three servants. One receives five measures of money (called talents), another two, and another one.
The servants that received five and two talents put the money to work, and by the time the ruler has returned they have doubled his investment. He praises them and then calls upon the servant who received only one. That servant revealed that he has hidden the money away, burying it in the earth, and has no profit to show for what he was given. He is declared to be an evil servant by the master.
The moral of the story is that God gives to each of us opportunities and abilities, and we are actually expected to do something with them all. Frankly, it isn’t enough to only keep from evil and enjoy the beauties of this earth. We are also expected to actively put more good back into the world. God’s sun rises, his wind blows, his water runs, and all of it brings glory and beauty to the world. We are also His creation, and there is just as much expectation for us to also be functional and beautiful. And when we are a vibrant, active in the talents God has given us, then we also bring glory and beauty to the world, and we are sure to “feel His pleasure.”
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; - Doctrine and Covenants 58:27
My Calling)
An interesting effect I have seen in those living a life of addiction recovery is that they often start taking the “talents” they have received from God and seeking to do more with them. After being saved from their vices many of them have gone back to school, changed their careers, and leapt into the work that they feel called to do. Several have become therapists and counselors, helping others as they were once helped. Some have begun podcasts, sharing the stories of addiction recovery with the world. Others have become public speakers, using their hard-earned experience to motivate audiences around the world.
I, too, have felt called to a work. It was early on in my recovery that I recognized God had given me creativity and writing as a way to bring glory to Him and to “feel His pleasure.” As a result, I started writing a story blog, this spiritual blog, and a novel. Sometimes I’ve lapsed in this work, but when I commit to it with a pure heart, I really do feel His approval and validation. I feel that I am making Him pleased with me, because I am doing my part to shine a light into the world.
Remember what Jesus told to his disciples. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). This is more than a suggestion it is a requirement if we are ever to have that sense of self-satisfaction that we all crave. If you find yourself longing for the world to shine a spotlight on you, it’s time to start considering instead how you can start shining your light into the world!
How to Get the Praise You Deserve: Part Four
I have been examining our need for approval and validation in our lives, and how we can seek it from other sources than the people around us. Thus far I have discussed the practice of giving approval and validation to our own selves, and this certainly an important practice, but it isn’t the end of the story.
Today we will start to examine another source of approval and validation, one that is higher than any other. We will start by looking at the most perfect example of a man living with this sort of higher approval in his life.
Divine Approval)
The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. - John 8:29
And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
And I knew that thou hearest me always. - John 11:41-42
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. - Matthew 3:17
We often speak of the pain that Jesus endured, but he also must have had moments of wonderful rapture as well. Can you imagine knowing with the same surety that he did that God loved you, saw you, and appreciated everything that you did? Can you imagine hearing God’s voice literally speaking out loud to say that He was pleased with you?
Forget about the validation of other people, what further approval would you need if you were regularly having experiences like this?! I believe each of us knows, deep down, that somehow this is the sort of the validation that we were made for!
If we are the children of God, then we are wired to need His approval. Children need to know that their father sees and appreciates them. We speak so much of our need to be obedient to Him, but that’s only half of the story. We need to be obedient to Him so that we may feel His approval. You cannot get away from this need, it is part of your identity as His son or daughter.
And that is why saying “I don’t need anyone else’s approval to be happy” is misguided. Or rather, it is misguided when it is applied to more than just the human race. Each of us has inside of us a hole that only God can fill, and so long as we keep trying to fill it with the approval of other people, or deny that the hole exists at all, we are going to be left agitated, incomplete, and perpetually frustrated.
Most of the time, we don’t even consider the absence of God’s approval when we try to make sense of this frustration inside of us. We might even ask Him to bless us with the approval from others, and then wonder why He didn’t answer that prayer! He doesn’t, because in His wisdom He knows that isn’t what we really need.
In conclusion, the world doesn’t meet the need for acknowledgement and approval that we need, nor indeed can it. This need for praise is based in our relationship as children of a Heavenly Father, and His is the only approval that can satiate our souls.
Which is all well and good to understand…but now how do we get to hear those sorts of messages from Him? We’ll take a look at that with tomorrow’s post.
Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 24:29, 31-33, 49
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. 31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. 32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him. 33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. 49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.
The servant is graciously received into the home of Rebekah’s brother, Laban. His camels are unburdened and given feed, his feet are washed, and food is set before him to eat.
But while everything was done to set the servant at ease, he is not going to let himself relax until his charge has been fulfilled. He is here for a purpose, and while its success appears imminent, it is not yet made sure.
So, he tells his hosts about Abraham and Isaac, he tells of his commission to find a spouse for his master, and he tells the events that led him to their home. Then, in verse 49, he says that he must have an answer of them, and if their answer is to not allow Rebekah to return with him, then he must leave this table of food, put his sandals back on his feet, rouse his camels, and set right back to work on his given task! The man has the burden of duty upon him, and he isn’t going to relax until that has been taken care of. He isn’t going to waste his master’s time in vain pursuits.
Spiritual Wanderings 