It’s all about Jesus, not Symbols!

Commentary By:  Gordon King

Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden mankind has been born into sin.  All of us have been born with a sinful nature, rebelling against our Creator.  It is only through the blood of Christ that we are saved, that we can commune with God.

And even before the birth of Christ on earth, there was still salvation through Christ, for He was before the foundation of the world and always will be.  Just because we didn’t know Jesus Christ before that time doesn’t mean that He didn’t exist or that we could be saved without Him.  I don’t have all of the answers to this question, yet there is no other way.

From the beginning man made blood sacrifices to God in order to satisfy Him and cover our sins.  Yet, these animal sacrifices were merely a foreshadowing of things to come, a symbol of future events, of the true sacrifice that Jesus Christ made upon the cross for all of us.

At the time of Jesus death on the cross there was a great earthquake and the veil in the temple leading to the Holy of Holies (where God dwelt) was rent in half.  This was a symbol for our access to God through Jesus Christ.  No longer do we need to access God through animal sacrifices and a high priest in the Holy of Holies, because Jesus Christ is our sacrifice and our High Priest!

The Old Covenant has been replaced by a New Covenant, animal sacrifices are no longer required by God and we are not bound by the law.  There is only one way to God, one way to heaven, and that way is through Jesus Christ, period!

Christ is in us and we are in Christ, where Christ is we are and where we are Christ lives.  Therefore, we are with Christ where-ever He is, and that includes heaven!  We now have access to our Father in heaven through Christ, and we sit in the throne room of heaven with Christ.

We as believers are not merely saved, we are new creations, given a new spirit, and live in Christ!  Christ is our life, and our life is given over to Christ.  We are spiritual beings living in a temporary shell, the physical world is only temporary, but what is of the spirit is eternal.

I have recently written about symbols and the world persecuting Christians for them, such as the cross and the nativity scene.  Even some Christians think that they are bad, but what really matters?

There are many things in this world which are symbols of things to come, foreshadowings of future things and events, even of past events, things which are spiritual in nature.  We must not get caught up in symbols, by that I mean believing that symbols are bad or idolatrous.  It is not a symbol which is bad, but the heart behind it, the meaning which is given to it.  A symbol is not an idol unless a person makes it one.  Do you think that God hated the golden calf, or was it the fact that the Jews were worshiping the calf as a god?  Even some believers think that the cross is bad, that it is an idol.  Well, it could be an idol if someone were to worship it and not God.

Think about this for a moment, everything in life has a symbol, even the words that I am writing are symbols of my thoughts and beliefs, yet what would we do if we didn’t have the written word?  We wouldn’t have the bible!  Even spoken words are symbols, yet we have speech to communicate, does this mean that they are bad also?  We have street signs which are symbols, they direct us along the right path and keep us from danger.  We have symbols for all sorts of things in this life, yet they are not bad.  My point is that we should not get caught up with symbols, whether or not they are good or bad, but what is the true meaning behind them, what is in the person’s heart who recognizes that symbol, this is what truly matters to God.

God is a Spirit, and what concerns Him the most is what is in our hearts and minds, not physical possessions.  It is our spirit which God communes with, our spirit which is eternal.  It is what we believe and how we act that matters to God.  Do you think that God cares if we own physical objects?  Of course not, He is the one who put us in a physical world!  What He does care about is how we treat these possessions, how we feel about them, and what they mean to us.  If we place symbols and possessions above God then they are idols and God hates that!  If we covet after and have greed for physical possessions then God hates that also.

My point is that we must be and stay focused on God, not on the things of this world.  It’s what is in our heart that matters, it’s who we worship and place our faith and trust in, not symbols.  God wants us to love Him more than anything or anyone.  If we take our eyes off of what is really important then we will lose sight of who we are in Christ.

When I was a small child I used to think that everyone should get along, that we should all love each other.  I didn’t really know why people hated others, nor did I understand why people were mean to other people.  I thought that people should be nice to one another and treat each other with kindness.  I guess that I was more spiritual as a small child than I probably am now!  Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when He said we must become as little children?!

Matthew 18:1-5

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, ³ and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.“

Take care my friends and Merry Christmas!  God bless!