Buds And Branches
Lights On a Hill that Cannot Be Hidden!!
Good Trees Forever Producing Good Fruit!!
The buds and the branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand hammered out of pure gold. Exodus 25: 36
God, Jesus is telling the Israelites what the temple is supposed to look like.
He is giving them specific instructions.
Everything He is telling them to do, has a greater meaning.
For God is specific.
And Everything He does is to show us, to tell us, to reveal to us, His kids— Himself, His glory, His power, His majesty, His brilliance, His vision, His plans— for creation, for mankind, for us.
That we would believe.
That we would receive Him.
That we would choose to be His forever.
That we would see and fulfill our purposes, our roles, the meaning, the mission of our lives.
These lampstands in the temple— that are made with buds and branches of gold decorating them— are the churches, people who believe in Jesus.
That we—those who believe in Jesus Christ— hold the light of the world, the truth of life inside us.
That this light comes out of us, like a light comes out of a lampstand.
That God is showing us, that our lives, after we believe, become this lampstand, giving off light, truth, to everyone and anyone.
That we, walking around give off the truth of the ages, that there is a God, One True God, that we can only get to, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
That the core of this lamp, is Jesus Christ.
He is the light that pours out of us.
So the branches of the decoration on the lamp, represent us, the people.
That we-His people- are to grow, connected to this truth, Jesus Christ.
That we are to stretch out our arms, spreading this truth near and far, like branches on a tree.
The buds that cover the lampstand, the blossoms, are symbolic our faith.
That our faith will be seen, felt, smelt all around us.
That others can smell the sweet aroma of God on us.
That even this would lead others to see Him, to know Him, to receive Him as Lord and Savior.
That as we produce the fruits of the faith, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, that this would show everyone around us, God, Jesus, how we have been made new creations, spreading this perfume of His love, and mercy all around.
That these lampstands with the branches and the buds are made of one piece of pure gold.
Pure Gold because Jesus was perfect, God, completely holy, completely pure from impurities.
And it’s made from one piece, because when we receive Jesus Christ as Lord, we all-those who believe- become One with Him, One with our Maker, One with our Savior, One with Our Lord, One in Spirit, One in form, One in Heart and Mind, Now and Forever, us reflecting His purity, we receiving His purity of spotless gold.
This pure gold had to be hammered and made into these shapes.
That when we receive Him—this pure gold—we are molded, hammered, shaped for our callings.
For our faith is more precious than gold, though it is refined by fire.
He is showing us that our faith is going to go through testing, to remove impurities that are covering, hiding, the pure gold of Jesus inside us.
That just like the gold was hammered into these shapes our faith will be molded through some difficult seasons that we reflect the purity of Jesus inside us.
That God is showing us with these lampstands, in this scripture, with the buds and blossoms, who we are, how we are going to be seen by God.
That He is revealing to us our true callings, our purpose.
That we are His vessels of glory, that shine, that give out His light, that spread to reach out to the lost, that diffuses His pleasing aroma, His enticing perfume, to everyone who comes near, showing out His rich, lush, glowing beauty to those who look toward God.
May we know that we know that we know that every detail God wrote for us in the Bible is meant to bless us, showing us Him and showing us His good plans for us.
May we know that we know that we know that God has wonderful plans for all His people, intending all of us to shine brighter than the sun, reflecting His Son Jesus’s glory.
May we know that we know that we know the Love of the Maker of Heaven and Earth— who commands the air we breathe to move, the sun and moon to shine, the earth to rotate, who has spent generation after generation calling to us, wooing us, willing us to see Him and believe, giving us detail after detail that we receive His offering of Jesus Christ— becoming His and being everything we were called to be in this life and the next, living with Him forever in His Kingdom of Love, for all eternity.
love kathlynn