214. Made Near
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
We were all sometimes far off from God, each one of us wandering in a far off country, but the blood of Christ has brought us close to God. He made us near. Our own sins were the problem; Sin separated us from God. We could not approach God or get anywhere near close to His beauty, holiness and love, or we would be consumed by God’s holy fire.
However, when the blood of Christ washes away our sins then there is nothing in the way between God and us sinners. Now we are made near to God and we are engulfed in His love; we are not blinded by the light nor consumed by the holiness. We do not have to be far off. It may seem to us at certain times that the Lord is absent or removed from us, but we may easily come near again through repentance and faith in the Gospel. The feeling of God’s Presence may not return right away, but the Truth of His Presence and nearness certainly will.
The promise says that it is the Father who makes us near; he draws us. We do not “come near,” we are “made near.”We do not naturally have the desire or ability to draw near to God or to come close to Him. But Jesus Christ died for me, the ungodly, while I was still a far off sinner. The Holy Spirit has called me by that Gospel word and drawn me with cords of love. God does it all: He sent the Son; the Son died; the Spirit makes near.
From a worldly perspective it may seem as though I came near (became a believer in Christ) by accident: I was born in the right place, I met the right people, I happened to hear the gospel of salvation, and the right things happened to me at the right time. But from a heavenly perspective it wasn’t an accident at all: God met me and by design and brought me near. The Lord is orchestratingevents, people, and places to make me nigh; He is moving heaven and earth to bring about my forgiveness and salvation. I may have thought I was seeking Him, but all the while He was looking for me. The Lord found me and brought me near.