A Contrarian’s Guide To Knowing GodSmakprov

Breaking Through the Sacred Curtain

A sacred curtain once separated God from his people. Only the high priest could come in, and only once a year. But when Jesus died for us, God tore the curtain in two, symbolizing a new day of access. 

For some reason, we keep sewing it back together, suggesting some people can’t access God the way we can, thinking we’re helping God out or protecting his reputation. 

It’s not unlike most professions. Over the years, people in the profession raise the bar in order to keep the “unqualified” out. The result is a greater sense of exclusivity and often a set of regulations that would keep the people raising the bar from getting in themselves if they had to start over. 

You see the same thing happen with families who flee the city for a rural setting. They’re all for easy building codes when moving in. But once enough of their old neighbors start to follow, it’s not long until a no-growth initiative shows up on the ballot. 

God’s people are no different. We’ve always had a tendency to try raising the bar to entry—after we’ve gotten in. The thick fog of traditions and our assumption that whatever’s good for us would also be great for everybody else obscures the simplicity of knowing God through Jesus Christ. When the bar gets raised higher than the biblical standard, many Christians who see themselves as saved believe they are incapable of ever experiencing a spirituality that genuinely pleases God. 

That’s a shame, because historically whenever God shows up—whether in the days of the Old Testament prophets, during the ministry of Jesus Christ, or in a modern-day revival—the people he calls, uses, and blesses seldom fit the conventional profile of spirituality. 

More often than not, they’ve been culled from ranks of common folks, people like you and me long ago written off by the spiritually elite as lacking the pedigree or prerequisites for being known and used by God. 

But God recruits the humble, broken, and pedestrian, and gives us a path we can follow and a power we can access. He’s the ultimate come-as-you-are God. And his deepest longing is for you to know him, for who he is and as he created you to be.

Who in your life has had a positive impact on you spiritually who hasn’t fit the conventional image of a Christ-follower?

 If you enjoyed this 5-day devotional from Larry Osborne, be sure to check out Larry's book, A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God . To enter to win a copy of A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God, click here .