One of the categories for this blog is the “intangible” realm. We may see it as having to do with a “sixth sense” or something “mystical,” New Age, or supernatural, depending on our religious backgrounds.
I feel that God is no longer “mystical” in the sense that He is no longer “unknowable.” Soon, many people will be celebrating Passover, Easter, and other festivals, some of which try to point back at Jesus Christ dying as a sacrifice. One of the effects of Jesus Christ coming as a human is that we can personally know our Creator God. The incarnation allows us to have more than just “book knowledge” of God.
One difference between the idea of having a personal Messiah of Jesus and the ideas of most other religions is that of performance. Followers of Jesus believe they no longer need to perform rituals with the hope of satisfying the anger and wrath of our Creator or other powerful being. The wrath of God was satisfied by Jesus dying on a cross. The “performance” of people is no longer a measure of our right standing with God. Right standing with God is now measured by the righteousness of the Savior (Jesus) when faith is put in Him. Our performance of anything in the Kingdom of God is then a sacrificial outpouring of us walking in our new identities at children of God, adopted into the Kingdom of God.
Because of Jesus and His righteousness, we no longer depend on rituals to (hopefully) appease and angry God. We can now benefit from a personal relationship with our Creator and be free of any “mystical” detached understanding of Him. Because of Jesus, we can now have a “Heavenly Father” who interacts with us as children in the Kingdom.
Whatever you celebrate this week, may Jesus reveal Himself to you more than ever before!
-Jason