The Us God wants to dwell with us!

From the beginning of the Bible to its conclusion in Revelation 21-22, we read a story about an Us God who wants to dwell with His greatest creation, man. This amazing love relationship started when God said, "Let Us make man in Our image and Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26). And from the beginning man has run and hidden himself from the very person(s) that he needed most in his life. When things go bad we should run to God, but instead we do what our father Adam did.

"And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God" (Genesis 3:8).

Yes, the Bible is about reconciling a relationship that was broken by sin, but what does that relationship look like when it is restored? We live with God, we know Him as He knows us.

Six times the prophet Ezekiel describes it like this, “So you will be My people, and I will be your God” (Ezekiel 11:20, 14:11, 34:30, 36:28, 37:23,27). This only can take place through the Life and Spirit of Messiah Jesus. Our receiving and believing in the Name of Jesus restores what was a lost and broken relationship. Only then can we dwell with God, being His people and He being our God.

The Apostle Paul captured what Ezekiel and the entire Bible was trying to describe about those who would receive Messiah; "For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (2 Corinthians 6:16).

This is the be all end all of Christianity and the story of the Bible, that God would dwell with us and walk with us and be our God and we would be His people! This would not come cheap or easy, there was a price for sin that needed to be handled.

But God wanting to live with us, is not like some lazy roommate wanting to live with us. God is not some deadbeat who won't kick in for his half of the rent. God is not some mooch who always wants to borrow your car and then leaves it empty of gas. God is not someone who wants to see how much he can use you then go and find another friend. NO! God is nothing like that!

God is the perfect friend, the perfect father, the perfect brother! The LORD is our provider, Jehovah-Jireh (Genesis 22:14)! The LORD is our healer, Jehovah-Rapha (Exodus 15:26)! The LORD is our banner, Jehovah-Nissi (Exodus 17:15)! The LORD is our peace, Jehovah-Shalom (Judges 6:24)! The LORD is our Shepherd, Jehovah-Ra'ah (Psalms 23:1)! The LORD is our righteousness, Jehovah-Tsidkenu (Jeremiah 23:6)! The LORD is there, Jehovah-Shammah (Ezekiel 48:35)!

Jehovah-Jesus, The Lord is our Savior (Isaiah 43:3, Matthew 1:21) came to restore a relationship and save us from our sins. He is our eternal hope that we might see the day John described in Revelation 21:3-4 "And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain."

John 17:3 says "And this is Eternal Life, that we might know the One true God and His Son whom He has sent;" that we might know our God and dwell with Him and be His people!