Monday, November 26, 2012

Gates




In Guatemala City, rich people live behind high walls. You can’t see their gardens or their houses from the street. If you’re a curious little kid, you can peek through wrought iron gates but you won’t see much. With just a glimpse of stone houses and colorful gardens, I used to imagine fairy tale style lives happening behind those walls.

But gates aren’t for looking through. They are a way for the residents and their guests to go into their home. They are also a reminder that what is on the other side is forbidden to those who don’t belong.

In the Bible there are numerous mentions of the King riding through the gates. He gets to go in because the gates open into His home. What’s exciting about this passage is that the King has invited me through the gates. I don’t have to stand out in the street and peek through the bars, hoping to catch a glimpse of Him and imagining what it’s like inside.

The gates are standing open for me. When I go through them I go right into His presence. I’m one of the guests who’s welcome in the house.

This passage also tells us that the cornerstone is the stone that was once rejected. I’m not going to analyze the metaphors here, but I will point out that Acts 4:11 says that Jesus is that rejected cornerstone. The Psalm is about Jesus. He’s the King that welcomes me; He’s the King that the gates lead to. 

But not everyone is welcome through the gates. They’re opened for the righteous to pass through. And here’s the really amazing part. King Jesus came out through the gates to find me, even though I wasn’t righteous. Then He made me godly and invited me in. I’m a welcome guest because the King made me into the kind of person who can be in His presence. 

So when I go through the gates that lead me into the presence of the Lord, I will thank Him. 

And on the day I go through the gates that lead me into the presence of the Lord, I rejoice. In fact, any day I spend in His presence is fully joyful (Psalm 16:11). 

I get to do that every day.

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