People have asked and tried to answer that question for many years. Today I was given a very vivid reminder of how simple the answer is. Today, sometime before 5:30 a.m., the education wing of our church building was engulfed by fire, damaging a large part of the building on both floors, and leaving the rest of the complex a smoky mess. As of now, we can't use any of this building. This fire has disrupted today's activities, and it has disrupted future plans. This evening, I was able to walk through the building with my pastor, Rob Ray. This is what I saw.
As you are walking through our gym from the undamaged area to the place where the fire started, this is what you see just to the left of the doorway leading into the hallway. The wooden doors that were here were shut. All that is left of them is the handles. This is the place where the fire burned first and hottest. This cross apparently was on the wall behind the carpet and padding that had been placed on the wall. As the fire burned away the carpet, the cross was revealed. No one at the church knew this cross was here until today. I thought it was quite a stunning picture - first you encounter the cross, then you encounter the fire!
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (I Peter 2:24)
This tapestry is hanging in the lobby directly off the gym. Every surface in this room is black with soot. You can see that at the bottom of the picture. Every light fixture was melted or broken. You could not see through the doors and windows in the room. But this picture was perfectly clean. It is a crocheted print of the Lord's Prayer. It is as clean as the day that the picture was hung, which was at least 6 years ago, because it has been there as long as I have been a member of this church. The frame is not dirty, burned, or nicked. The print itself is white. This print reminds us through the words of Jesus that God will provide for us and will protect us through all of life's trials, even a fire that destroys part of your church building.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (I Timothy 2:5)
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
So, the answer is simple: you come to God through the cross of Christ and through prayer. Nothing else is required. All God asks is faith. Faith that He gives forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ, and faith that He will hear us in times of need. As a result, this is what we can expect:
For You have tried us, O God ; You have refined us as silver is refined. (Psalm 66:10)
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