Near, Far, Wherever You Are

One of the verses that jumped out at me in today’s reading (Ephesians 2) was “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ,”
which reminded me of 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”

There are several correct ways to think about what Jesus did for us on the cross: He was the atoning sacrifice for our sins, He paid our ransom, He reconciled us to God, He conquered death. But these two verses lead me to think about what Jesus accomplished in a slightly different way – almost in terms of geography. We were far from God and, through the cross, it’s almost like Jesus can pick us up as desperate hitchhikers, with no vehicles and crippled legs, and take us to God.

And, when I look at it that way, it makes me wonder: I’ve been brought near to God, but am I staying close to God, or am I dragging myself away from His presence? Am I taking advantage of the fact that I’ve been brought near to God, or am I ignoring it, or am I even working against what Jesus accomplished for me?