Keep A Safe Distance

Introduction

Part 1

Having an anchor in life is important

An anchor allows us to intentionally stay where we want to stay

An anchor allows us to intentionally go where we want to go

Too often, the things that seem to “secure” us really just keep us stuck and there is a huge difference between being stuck and being anchored.

In Hebrews 6, the Apostle Paul offered the idea of hope as an anchor.

Hope is a favorable and confident expectation.

Our hope, rooted in God’s nature is the promise of God’s presence and the promise of a good reward for our faith and effort.

Part 2

Playing off the metaphor of anchoring, we have seen that the best time to set our anchor is in the calmer times of life, lest we drift in them. We should anchor deeply into our relationship with God, our Heavenly Father, and with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Part 3

We also saw the importance of heading into the wind, the wind being the challenges we face in life. By heading into the wind, those difficulties actually help to set our anchor rather than pulling it up.

Part 4

As we revisit the analogy of anchoring one last time, we stop to think about how near our anchor should we remain.

Hebrews 6:17–20 NKJV

17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

In hope, we have fled for refuge. In hope, we have set our anchor.

The last important analogy for us in anchoring is the idea of distance. The amount of distance between the anchor and the ship turns out to be pretty important.

If a ship gets too far from its anchor, the forces of wind and tide will push it around.

A ship with a lot of movement is a danger to other ships that are anchored nearby. Some of us have been impacted by other people whose lives were drifting a bit out of control and hit us.

A ship with a lot of movement is in danger of dislodging its own anchor as speed and force pull it further away. Most of us have seen people whose lives were anchored and secure in their relationship with God but who drifted away and now just drift to their own peril.

Since the amount of distance is important, the question that comes up is “What is a safe distance?”

Paul makes the observations that though we know roughly where our anchor is, we cannot see the actual anchor point, it enters the presence of God, behind the veil.

Transition

The veil is an interesting reference. When we explore it, we actually find that it was all about distance and answers our question of distance.

Illumination

The Veil Was A Divider, Exodus 26:31-34

Exodus 26:31–34 NKJV

31 “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy.

Specifically, The Veil—or curtain—was the divider within the Tabernacle proper, and later the temple, that divided between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place (also called the Holy of Holies) Where the throne of God and the manifestation of His presence dwelled. It was the last in a series of curtains that served to separate God from mankind.

Only Jewish men could enter the Tabernacle courtyard. Only Jewish priests could enter the Tabernacle itself. Only the Jewish High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and even he could only enter once a year.

The Tabernacle, and its separation, were a picture of reality

Humanity was separated from God. The Jewish people were closer to Him. Jewish men were closer still. Jewish priests were even closer. The Jewish High Priest was closest. Yes, it was the rule, but the rule was, in many ways, just a reinforcement of the order that already existed.

Separation was mankind’s choice, not God’s

What we might see as enforcement of separation was really a recognition of separation. Separation that mankind chose at every turn.

At the very beginning, Adam and Eve lived in an idyllic paradise in perfect, harmonious relationship with their Creator and Father God. There was one single rule—don’t eat of the fruit from one particular tree—that existed to make our choice of God a genuine choice since an alternative existed. What happened?

Genesis 3:6 NKJV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Adam and Eve chose the one thing that was not God. Their children did the same. When it came time for their sons to make their own choices, one chose God. The other chose something else. Though God was disappointed, He was not done.

Genesis 4:6–8 NKJV

6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” 8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

That pretty much finished it. The rest of Genesis, like the rest of human history, is the story of us choosing something other than God and walking further from God in the process. It was we who chose to be separate and distant, not God.

The veil in the Tabernacle was simply a statement of fact.

While the whole of human history can be seen as our journey away from God, it should also be seen as God’s journey to draw us back. That has ever been His desire.

The Veil Was Destroyed, Mark 15:38

Mark 15:38 NKJV

38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Though this verse is short, its significance should not be lost on us. As Jesus died on the cross, in our place and for our sins, God tore the veil to show that in Jesus’ death, He had accomplished His goal: removing the separation between mankind and God. Now, anyone who chose to be close to God could be.

The Veil Was Repaired

Though God destroyed the thing which portrayed our separation from Him, people repaired it. Turns out, most people actually still chose—and choose—to be separate from God. The reality does not have to be separation, we choose to make it so. That is sad to the point of being desperately discouraging. But it is reality. And we can see it on display everywhere we look.

Conclusion

God removed the separation between Himself and us. So, how distant should we be when we set our anchor and live our lives? The shortest distance is the safest distance. The closer we get, the more secure—the more hopeful—our lives will be.

Application

How close are you to God? There does not need to be any distance between us.

But even as believers who have chosen to be in relationship with our Heavenly Father, we have a tendency to drift. We drift to our own peril, and imperil others in the process.

Since we chosen to not be separated from our Father, it makes sense to stay nearby. surrendering the ship of our life to the forces of wind and waves is inconsistent with our choice and unsafe. Keep a safe distance when anchored, remembering that the shortest distance is the safest distance.