The Curtain
Life is more than the curtain.
A curtain tends to separate the inside from the outside. It screens us from what lies beyond. A curtain may be quite colourful or even eye catching yet it is mainly a functional thing. In the morning we wake up and pull back the curtain to see what the day is like. We don’t tend to look at the curtain with a sense of delight as if it is the main focus. Our vision and focus is on what the curtain has blocked out, in fact to truly embrace the beauty of the day the curtain must be pulled right to the side and itself be placed out of view.
When we read of God creating the “heavens and the earth” we tend to think of the physical and tangible world that is visible to the eye and testable by science. We look at the forests and the rivers and the rocks and if we acknowledge that the eternal one is the creator of all from nothing we thank him for all that we can see and feel and touch. This physical world is very beautiful and constant on one level yet ever changing on another.
Yet this earth and the physical universe is described in God’s word as being no more than a curtain. In fact the other realm that it obscures and screens us from is far more magnificent and enduring than this temporary curtain we have come to love and enjoy. The spiritual dimension is on a plane that this physical aspect cannot even begin to be compared with. In fact the bible says our eyes have not seen, our ears have not heard and our minds have not even begun to conceive what lies beyond this perishable screen.
It seems a mystery as to why God has separated the two dimensions so thoroughly. It is true that those who know God intimately have seen a little of what lies beyond yet even this is only a trace, a touch , a breath that passes so quickly.
One of the main reasons we cannot see the “ real and enduring “ world that awaits us is that we are called to “ live by faith not by sight.” Faith is choosing to believe what God has said about all things. When he says he is real and full of love we believe it by faith. When he says we have all sinned and gone our own way we believe it by faith, no matter how much we might react to such a statement. When he says we can return to the lover of our souls who is Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection we believe it and accept it as truth. It is not about how we feel or how strange the idea may seem to us it is about trusting God and that is faith.
As forgiven children of God we can look forward to an eternity of immense blessing and purpose and delight as we go beyond the curtain and discover what we were really made for. This life we spend looking at a screen yet with the eyes of faith we can believe that what lies beyond is beautiful and forever . It is described as being the “ new order of things” as there will be no more tears or pain.
Don’t get hung up on the curtain. Dare to believe that there is daylight outside and with courage put your trust in God and start to draw those curtains back. His glory will shine into your life. You will never be the same