The great epic that is the Bible begins with a clear conflict: the divine breathes life into humanity in order to live in community with us, but once sin arrives, this intimacy is shattered. Humanity finds itself thrust outside of Eden and away from God, in a position that they were never created for. What results is pain for us and unimaginable pain for God.
And who among us hasn't felt that tension? Those moments when we most desperately long to feel the presence of the divine, but instead, feel the weight of silence. Of separation.
We have a longing knit into our soul to, as the Psalmist puts it, "...dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of [our lives], to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord..."
And so it is fitting that John explains the incarnation usingtemple language. He writes, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us [literally: tabernacled], and we have seen his glory..."
The Word-that which spoke the universe into existence, that which brings light and life to the whole world, confined itself within flesh in order to tabernacle with us. The desire of God's heart to be among His people is that strong.
Jesus is not just visiting—He is the tabernacle. He is the place where heaven meets earth, where God’s presence is no longer confined to a structure, but embodied in a person.
Throughout Scripture, from the garden in Genesis to the temple in 1 Kings, we see a consistent desire from God: He wants to be with His people. Not distant. Not abstract. Near. Personal. Present.
And in Jesus, that desire reaches its fullest expression.
God doesn't wait for us to come find Him in a holy place—He comes to us. He steps into our world, our mess, our ordinary lives, and makes Himself accessible. The God who once filled a tent with glory now walks dusty roads, sits at tables, touches the sick, and calls people by name.
Jesus still desires to dwell with His people—and not just around us, but within us.
We don’t have to strive to reach Him in some distant place. In Christ & through the Spirit, God is already near.
God's desire to be with you is that strong. They say that we become what we give attention to. This week, let us give attention to the fact that we are so perfectly loved and longed for that our Creator would leave Heaven and fight death just to be near us.
While we sometimes long to be with the divine, He always longs to be with us.
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