Behind the Veil

What lies behind the veil?

It's a hidden place. That which is hidden could be both good or bad. If good, perhaps it is something special or sacred, only for a select few to know and access. If bad, perhaps darkness, secrets, and sin.

We all have a veil. We all have a part of ourselves that the outside world sees, and a part of ourselves that lies beyond the veil, that only our inner world sees, or perhaps just God.

What is it for you? Is it your faith, kept secret and sacred to yourself, not sharing with the world out of fear of seeming judgmental or discriminatory? Is it your struggle with weight? Depression? Insecurity? Fear of commitment? Inability to love or be loved? Is it an addiction?

For many, our lives stay veiled forever, never to let anyone in to see the true us. We fear rejection. We fear judgement.

In the Old Testament, Jewish people worshiped in a tabernacle, which was separated into different sections. There was the outer court, the inner court (holy place), and the most holy place called the Holy of Holies. An average person could enter the outer court, priests could enter the inner court, but only the High Priest could go behind the veil to the Holy of Holies. The Jewish people believed that the presence of God lived in that most holy place. So, before the high priest entered, he had to go through a series of purification rituals. The Jewish people were kept at a distance from their God, and only through a series of rituals and sacrifices, could they meet their God or be in His presence.

However, this all changed when Jesus entered the scene. At his death and crucifixion, the Bible says: "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split..." Matthew 27:51. Basically, the veil, the very symbol of what represented the split between God and man in the Jewish religion, was torn in two on that day. Jesus came to bridge that gap between God and man, so that we can come before our God clothed in Christ's righteousness. In Hebrews 6: 19-20, it says. "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." Christ has torn the veil that allows us to enter into God's presence. He sees all of us, all our good and bad kept behind our veil, and He dares to go beyond that veil. He goes beyond it and loves us all the same knowing every piece of our lives.

If we can come to claim that kind of love in our lives - the kind of love that goes behind our veil into the darkest places in our lives and accepts and loves us all the same - just imagine the kind of freedom that would come from that.

So, what lies behind your veil? What have you kept hidden in your Holy of Holies? Are you willing to have an all-loving Savior come tear it down, and set you free?

Sometimes I can barely breathe...

Sometimes I can barely catch my breath when I think about what has happened in my life in the last 4 years, the struggles and strongholds I have had to overcome (and am still overcoming), and the people I have lost in the process. It's super painful and sometimes even still a little unbelievable to me. I remember growing up and always hearing my friends and people in my church talk about these crazy, life-changing testimonies they had after they became saved and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. They would have these intense life situations, sins, or addictions that they had to overcome through the blood and love of Christ. I was never one of those people. I grew up in the church from a baby and gradually learned about the Bible, the Gospel, and God/Christ through weekly Sunday School classes, church services, and youth group. I remember in middle school and high school feeling like perhaps something was missing to my testimony, wondering why I didn't have that big life change. By the time I graduated from high school, I simply accepted and acknowledged that every person has their own unique testimony, and I felt blessed that I didn't have any huge life situations or hurdles I had to face in my life thus far.