"There I will meet you and speak to you; there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory." Exodus 29:42-43
There are two things happening when consecration occurs. First, there is the consecration of the people by God and second, there is a consecration and committment of the people to God. The first has been done and continues to be done by God's own initiative. He does it when he calls Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeas. He's calling and setting apart a people for Himself. He continues to do this throughout the history of Israel and infinitely does this in the Church through Jesus God's Son. As is the character of God, what He established continues. The consecration of a people, His people, that began from the calling of one man continues to the followers of Jesus today...to those who are a part of the Church (the people, not the institution).
The consecration of the people, however, is not as definite. When it comes to the followers of Christ a choice is given to either prepare yourself for the Lord or not prepare yourself. This process of preparation in the Old Testament (and the passage above) took 7 days. It was not flippant but very detailed. Much preparation was made to follow the guidelines set by YHWH. I realize times have changed with the coming of Jesus. With every walk along the history of the Church (Old and New Testaments) I would argue that God makes Himself more accessible - culminating in Christ and in the Spirit being given to the church. However (and I'm speaking personally here) I've been convicted preparation for our weekly gatherings with God has been minimal.
We still hold, in a sense, weekly gatherings around the temple, only now all believers have access to the Holy of Holies. This was previously given to just one man, the High Priest. Now because of Jesus our High Priest we have the ability to enter in to such a sacred space daily as individuals and corporately as the Church. The gatherings of our faith communities are nothing less than entering into the holiest place. This leads me to believe as a church preparations must be made before dawning the doors of our churches. For leadership (myself included) there must be an awesome reverence for such a thing and preparations for us must be very intentional. I must admit, with three kids my Sunday routine would be to get up, showered, dressed, and off to the church...no 'consecrated' time of prayer except a few minutes beforehand. I always felt as if something was missing. It was. It was devoted time preparing for and encounter with the glory of God.
That's what it's about...glory. It's God being revealed in us, around us, and through us.
It's not a simple task. It's not insignificant. It's God. It's us. It's a collision of God's faithful promise and act of his consecrating a people and our act of devotion that bring about God's glory.
God's act...our devotion...His Glory revealed. Amen
