Badger Skins

When people think of Christianity they think of dusty books, buttoned up morality and boredom. They envision Puritan top hats and cold wooden pews. The Christian life is like eating raw broccoli or cabbage - as the main course. It’s seen as a descent into a life of the bland and mundane.

The world asks what drives a person towards religion? Maybe he embraces Christianity because he is burdened by a sense of guilt and following a strict set of rules will help him feel better about himself.  Maybe she follows Jesus because she wants to help people that she perceives to be in need.  Maybe he thinks that in the Church is an avenue for a career that brings with it a sense of significance.

While I do concur that there is resolve from guilt in the Blood if Jesus, that humility and generosity are pathways to happiness and that serving God rewards us with a deep sense of purpose; I would be disingenuous if I said that was our motivation. For while there are certainly ancillary benefits to a lifestyle of obeying God the true engine of the devoted believer is hunger.

Hunger. A desire of mysterious origins, born within the individual in such a way so that he can’t pinpoint its date of origin or control the depth of its longing.  A drive, not unlike that of a man with an empty belly, that pushes us headlong into the pursuit of God.

The Tabernacle of Moses

There is a fascinating picture of this in the Tabernacle that God had Moses set up in Exodus 25 - 27.  These chapters unfold how meticulously crafted pure gold cutlery sat on a golden table in a room lit up by a golden lamp stand that gave light to inner walls which were made of carefully crafted fabrics woven with intricate designs. This room was adjacent to a room even more magnificent called the “Holy of Holies” where there was a golden mercy seat that was covered in smoke. And within the wonder of this craftsmanship dwelt the very Presence of God.

Without question the Tabernacle of Moses would have been a sight to behold for anyone who entered and yet it was not so to the one who looked at it from the outside. For the outer shell of the Tabernacle was made of badger skins (Exodus 26:14) - likely a protective cover to prevent the damage of the elements on the precious contents inside of the tent. But while the outer covering of the tent had practical purpose it also seems to have symbolic meaning.

For just as the world looks upon the Christian life and sees behavior control, boring ritual and guilt resolve for needy people so the one who viewed the Tabernacle from the outside only saw Badger Skins. The beauty and majesty of the Tent was only beheld by those who entered in. So it is with the Christian life. 

The Invitation

All through the Book of John we see Jesus giving the invitation to humanity. When Nathaniel questioned if He could really be as good as people thought the response given to him was “Come and See” (John 1:46). When Nicodemus came to Jesus with hunger desiring to know more about who He was and what He was about He advised that “Unless someone is born again they cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3).  And to His disciples He declared, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21).

All of this is to say that the offer is open to all humanity. Rich, poor, young, old, raised Christian or not - the proposal remains the same: God will manifest Himself to those who pursue Him.

As such the end of those who pursue God is the experience of wonder and beauty. I have in my walk with God seen miracles. Real ones. And even more than seeing the Power of God break into the here and now I have felt His Presence and have had my mind lit up by the Holy Spirit as He opens up the Bible to me.

Maybe all the world sees when they look at us is badger skins but maybe that isn’t so bad. It does seem to be, after all, how God designed it.