he left the curtain torn...

And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.
And at once the curtain of the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split.

Matthew 27:46-52

ok, so the other day i read this and then heard the song "Hero" by Abandon and it has stuck with me ever since. so ive been thinking about it a lot and actually have been feeling really inspired by it! :) just loving the incredible imagery of it...i just keep imagining sitting by the temple, seeing that curtain and knowing that nothing i do would ever get me past it. knowing that i am not worthy of it, of being the closest to the presence of God people knew how to get. but there is a barrier...but then all of a sudden the earth shakes...and the rocks split...and right before your very eyes the curtain - that barrier between you and the Holy of Holies - rips from top to bottom into two pieces.

and in that moment you realize that you have just been given the opportunity to enter into the presence of God. there is an opening, and there is nothing stopping you from walking right through...

how crazy is that??? If He hadn't destroyed the barrier and given us full access to the throne room...we would still be sitting on those temple steps...just wishing.

but we dont have to be! we can go in and be right there with Him...even though we are not worthy.

such a cool picture.

and in the song i mentioned above, the lyric that is just embedded into my head right now is this

"He left the curtain torn..."

it stayed torn! The throne room is still open! so by all means - lets continue to walk through it!!! take FULL advantage of the open curtain...He left it torn so that we could know Him, so that we could get to Him. so the choice is left up to us. we can stay, sitting on those temple steps - looking on from afar, or we can see the torn curtain and jump at the chance to get a glimpse into that throne room, into the presence of God.

and my friend Erika who is in Israel right now told me that while they were visiting a temple there the guide said that during that time - people would rip their clothing when they were mourning. so tearing the curtain was a way for God to mourn His son and to allow us to share in it with Him. and then open the way for us to know Him.

i just love it. such a short verse, and such a small song lyric - but wow. its managed to fill my head for a week now and its still goin strong. haha just so many ideas for a video and a drawing and a painting, etc...so well see what God's doing. not sure yet...stay tuned :)

anyways - i just wanted to share.

i hope it can bless you for even just a moment too :)