Better Is One Day

Monday, September 17, 6:17 am

Yesterday in church, we were singing this chorus when I started thinking…

There is a difference between the Jewish temple and a Jewish synagogue. The Jewish temple is one building which was built (and rebuilt and rebuilt and will be rebuilt again) in Jerusalem. It has great spiritual significance to the Jewish people. In Biblical times, unless you lived in Jerusalem, you only visited the temple only on special occasions. The synagogue was a local place of worship.Some Jews lived close enough to the temple to visit often. Some Jews visited the temple once or twice a year. Some made one pilgrimage in their whole life, and, I suspect, some never set foot there.

I tried to imagine what it would be like to travel–on foot–many miles just for the privilege of coming so close to the presence of God, the Place where He dwelt physically.

Just think of it.

The presence of God, here on earth. Something that didn’t exist where I lived, it only existed in the Holy of Holies.

Of course, I cannot imagine it because I have the presence of God wherever I am. The moment of Jesus’ death, the temple veil was rent in two and the presence of God flooded the earth. Then Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to earth as our Comforter and when we accept Him, He comes to reside in our spirit. What an awesome privilege!

There is, however, something powerful when believers come together. Is it a concentration of the Spirit? I don’t know. But, it’s awesome, and I know I should have a longing for His presence as the Psalmist longed for “a day in thy courts.”

However, it is a part of human nature; familiarity breeds contempt.

I pray that I don’t become so familiar with the presence of God that I don’t feel a deep longing to spend “a day in His courts.”