After giving the ten commandments, God invited the people to approach Him. However, most of the people stayed at a distance.
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:18-21)
There are several untrustworthy opinions that I heard relating to approaching God:
- 'We can never ask to meet face to face to God because that will makes us die.' This way of thinking often makes people never try to get closer to God.
- 'Because Jesus made a way for us to approach God, regardless if we are sinning, we can still be close to God.' Most of the people that believe this, do not see holiness important and lose the fear of God in their life.
God is both holy (1 Peter 1:16) and love (1 John 4:8). The art of approaching God consists of both respecting His holiness and believing in His love. God loves us so much that He wants to have a close relationship with us, but it never means that He tolerates His holiness.
Of course, there are many other aspects relating to approaching God: trust, faith, hungry & thirsty, waiting for Him, seeking Him, humble, be a living sacrifice, etc. I wish that we can grow closer and closer to God because be with Him is the best place that we can be.
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