| Access Denied (when being good isn't good enough) It was back 1977; I was diligently seeking spiritual development, studying Edgar Cayce�s books on clairvoyance, dream interpretation, Oriental Occultism and Miracle Metaphysics, I Ching, and basically anything I could get my hands on that would promote my advancement into psychic proclivity. In the midst of all this was the contemplation of God. Who is He? Some of my teachers said we are all God. Some taught Him as merely the personification of goodness. Some espoused teachings which said there are many gods. Whoever, whatever He was� I wanted to know Him. There was a deep hunger in my heart. I stopped my car and started toward the sunset, I ran with my arms outstretched across Ft. Belvoir golf course on a crisp winter evening. I was looking to go beyond, but always seemingly falling short of that rapturous spiritual experience that would transcend my physical limitations. Where was God? That night, as on many others, I would cry out to a God whom I couldn�t see, couldn�t feel, couldn�t verify the existence of, and as usual I would get nothing. Oh sure, there were the joys of life, the simple pleasures, the creature comforts, the reminders that someone up there must have been looking out for me, but there would be no real communing or relationship, no quenching of this longing deep in my soul. I had tried to rehabilitate, reform, change my ways� I stopped my crazy, riotous partying (pretty much), I didn�t steal things, I was kind toward others, I was even considerate of women that I was dating and saw them as people instead of objects of desire! I was doing all I knew how to do and still getting nowhere it seemed. One night I had this dream: I was wistfully singing a song and walking in through what I thought to be a bank entrance. It was one of those entrances that has an outside set of doors and then another set once you get inside. I pulled open the door and suddenly a force like I have never felt before yanked the door out of my hand and slammed it shut. The only way I can describe it is as if the door was the seal on a vacuum. It was slammed shut so suddenly and with such power� locked up like a vault and there was no way I could get in. That dream was a mystery to me back then. At the time I interpreted it as some sort of denied access to the power I was seeking. Not until now do I understand what it really meant. You see, in my way of thinking, I was a pretty good person. In fact, I thought I was a great guy. And I probably was! As I said earlier, I was doing all I knew how to do to be a kind, sensitive, responsible person (for the most part). But before a man is born again (the way the Bible describes in John chapter 3) he is spiritually dead and cannot be united with the Creator God. We are at enmity with God. There is no access to God�s presence. �Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we now stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.� (Romans 5:1) There is no way we can change ourselves spiritually. That is why Jesus had to come and take our place and die on the cross, so that we could take His place as sons and daughters of God. So that the chastisement of our peace would be upon him, and we could have peace with God. So that instead of sin separating us from God we could stand in the righteousness of the sinless Son of God. So that instead of being outside of the camp, we could enter in with full sonship privileges. This is what theologians call the doctrine of substitution. Jesus takes on our death so that we can take on His Life. Good Stuff! NEXT |