Ready to Move?

Our bodies are made for movement.

Think about it. If you hold still for too long, you'll die. At some point, you'll need to get something to eat. You'll need to move to avoid getting a bedsore. You'll need to get up to use the bathroom. Your muscles will atrophy to the point of uselessness if you don't move. The health complications of inertia are tremendous.

Our bodies are fascinating. The brain, nervous system, muscular and skeletal structures... all of them have to be coordinated in order to move. Even now, though I am not moving much, my fingers are working in coordination with all of those things I just mentioned. I am thinking these thoughts, they are connecting with something that says, "type this" (a choice I am making), and the messages are getting sent to the fingers to type something on a keyboard that pop up on this screen. At some point, a reader reads this stuff (I'll call that reader "you" for obvious reasons). Your eyes have to focus on the words. You have to interpret these shapes and process them. You can choose to agree or disagree, to apply them or say, "Meh, not for me today," and move on.

At some point today, I will get up and go for a run at the gym (my brain is telling me it's just too hot for a bike ride or an outdoor run... maybe a swim will do). Though all my various body parts may protest, they will all work together to get it done.

But all of it is coordinated.

Numbers 4 is, to me, a picture of a coordinated body. The tribes of Levi were delegated the responsibilities surrounding "The Dwelling," where God met with His people in the wilderness. Aaron and his sons ministered forgiveness and reconciliation, the life-illustrated plan of salvation. They also coordinated all the packing and unpacking and setup and movement of each part of The Dwelling whenever they would get up and move. The sub-tribe Kohathites carried the implements and furnishings of The Dwelling, but weren't to touch the furnishings themselves. Gershonites did the heavy lifting--all the fabric coverings and walls for The Dwelling. Merarites moved and set up the framework.

And all of it was coordinated by Aaron and his sons, the priests. God's anointed ones coordinated the process of the community's--the body's--movement.

Here are a few things I learn from this.

1. Today, I believe there is One anointed mediator for me. His Name is Jesus Christ. "Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There He ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands... But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for He is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises" (Hebrews 8:1-2, 6). Jesus dispenses the light of the world, the Holy Spirit, and provides us with what we need for real and eternal life. He intercedes between me and the Father, and He takes my prayers to Him. He appears before the Mercy Seat and offers His one sacrifice for me. He does this, and NO OTHER. He is the One.
2. God's dwelling--me!--needs to be carefully and intentionally cared for. I am a Dwelling of movement, not lethargy. It needs to be a well-conditioned and cared for body that doesn't sit around, but goes in coordination with God's will.
3. Jesus is the One to coordinate my movement and the movement of His body. I do not coordinate the church, or even my own family. I must seek His guidance and action in His will. If the Levite clans moved out of step with God's instructions through Moses, Aaron and his sons, they risked inefficiency at best, death at worst (if the Kohathites touched the furnishings, they were dead). To jump ahead of Jesus today is to overstep into areas I have no business being. It is critical that I ask Him, each day, to place me in His plans, where He is going, where He is on mission.

What do you take away from this? Ready to move?