Familiarity
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”
Exodus 24:1-2
The phrase “familiarity breeds contempt” reflects the reality many have experienced that when you come to know someone more intimately, you discover not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly. Whether it’s a new best friend or a new romantic relationship, the honeymoon period of only seeing someone’s good side doesn’t last forever. For some, the result is contempt; for others, it leads to murkier waters of indifference or disillusionment.
With God, there is no ‘bad or ugly’ and yet, so often our over familiarity with the Gospel breeds a certain kind of spiritual contempt. It is a scandalous thing to say, but we take our relationship with God for granted. We trivialize God to a genie in a bottle or fairy godmother type figure. We expect God to work with us in our lives, on our terms, when we want.
The two verses above are from Exodus and reflect a message repeated elsewhere throughout the Bible that a relationship with God is Holy ground. It is ground we could not walk on but for the Cross of Christ. It is ground that for centuries was not remotely ours. We are Earthly beings, limited and fallen, not able to stand in the presence of our Heavenly Creator without what Jesus has done to deal with our sin.
Here is the truth: a relationship with God is Holy ground where we are called to surrender to the One who created us and loves us. When we live any other way, we profane His name. I invite you today to pay attention to God’s holiness–that fearsome and unyielding fire of God’s glory. Look for glimpses of His majesty, then remember this is the same God who has made it possible for us to draw near. Give yourself to Him. In doing so, may the truth of our Holy yet present God breed in your heart not contempt, but humble gratitude and peace.
