Enter In

There is a beautiful worship song by Paul Wilbur, which says:

I enter the Holy of Holies
I enter through the blood of the Lamb
I enter to worship You only
I enter to honour I Am.

I was pondering on these words recently and wondering how often we do actually enter the Holy of Holies. Many of us fail to do so on a regular basis, possibly because of busy-ness or other distractions; or it may be because of a subconscious sense of unworthiness. We aren’t sure if God would really want to welcome us in.

Today’s verses remind us that when our sin is forgiven, and we’re washed clean by the blood of Jesus, we should have confidence to enter into the Most Holy Place of God’s presence. The curtain that separated people from approaching this place in the Temple was symbolically torn in two from top to bottom when Jesus died, making it possible for anyone who has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus to enter into God’s presence thereafter. But the Scripture continues by telling us that we need to draw near, with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith. Do we sometimes hold back, because we don’t have that full assurance?

In the story of the lost (or prodigal) son in Luke 15, the older son had never left the father’s house. However, when the younger son returned and was restored to the family, the older son was resentful and held back from entering into the house. He complained that he’d been slaving away for his father for years and had never been given even a goat to celebrate with his friends! His attitude was that of a slave instead of a son. The father pleaded with him, longing for him to come in too. He says: “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours” (Luke 15:31).

As adopted sons and heirs of God (Romans 8:14-17), we can enter into our Father’s presence and have access to our inheritance as His children. We are sons and not slaves. Like the father in the parable, our Heavenly Father is saying to us that all He has is ours, but we need to draw near to Him and enter in. Why not make a conscious choice to enter in today?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I’m sorry that I haven’t been coming regularly into the Holy of Holies and entering into all that You have for me. I want to draw near to You today with confidence, because of what Jesus has done for me. Thank You for making this possible. In Jesus’ name, Amen.