I was as lost as a man wandering around Hobby Lobby.  The cell signal was strong when we started out, but the bars were disappearing as we drove on.

We reached an area where there were none, then one, then none, then two, then none.  The nearer we were to a cell tower the better the signal seemed.

But isn’t much of life like that?   Nearer is better!

This applies to cell towers, payday, dinner time, Wi-Fi routers, concert seats, the weekend, vacation destinations, your spouse and most everything except poison ivy. Nearer is better. 

Could this apply to God?   The author of Hebrews says yes.  Several times in his letter he used the terms, “draw near” in relation to God.

Hebrews 4:16 for instance he wrote, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

The words “draw near” are derived from a Greek compound word, “pros-erchomai.  It means to come to or to draw near.  The phrase was used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to describe the priest of Israel as he interceded for his people.

Hebrews portrays Christ as our great high priest who intercedes for us.

He urges us to draw near – to get closer to the throne, where the mercy and grace of God is dispensed.  To face trouble without His mercy and grace would be frightening.   Nearer is better.

The author picks up the theme again in 7:25, “Therefore, He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” 

Again, Jesus is the subject.  “Draw near” in this verse is a present participle.  For you non-grammarians, this means we should understand it this way, “those who are drawing near to God through Him.”

The gist of it is this.  Those of us who are trusting Christ to save us from sin are forever saved through Him and His work at the cross.   Nearer is better.

Then there is 10:1-2 where the author argues that trying to be holy by keeping the OT law is pointless.  The Law was a reminder of sin whereas Christ provided redemption from sin.   He concluded that the Lord “make(s) perfect those who draw near.”

In other words, when we enter God’s presence by the blood of the Lamb, we present to God a record that has been expunged – judged perfect by the law.

One more! Hebrews 10:21-22, “Since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” 

When Adam and Eve blew it, they tried to hide from God in the garden.    How different our response, because we have Jesus as our great high priest.  We are compelled to draw near to God, with sincerity and purity and with the assurance we won’t be turned away.   

When I was a little kid, I came to believe that God lived in a dark, austere, stone, church building. He was confined to a gleaming golden tabernacle which was locked.

It sat upon an ornate altar, which rested on a platform which was elevated by a dozen steps.  Between me and God was a railing – a barrier that kept the two of us apart.

In my little mind, I thought it would have been easier to approach the Wizard of Oz.  The architecture of the church was telling me that God wanted nothing to do with me, but my own heart whispered the same awful lie.   

I had no idea that four times in the book of Hebrews, God waved to me and invited me to draw near.   He wants to be with me, and He wants to be with you!  How awesome

A Prayer: Jesus thank you for eliminating the distance. 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture references are from the New American Standard Updated Version