The Pattern

This line of thought all began as I wondered about animals in heaven. And don’t try to get me to believe you’ve never thought about it. I know better.

I am convinced that earth was a copy of heaven. Originally. Heaven was the blueprint God used to create all we see (and can’t see).

Do you remember this part of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”? Sure you do.

So I figure there are dogs and cats, birds and bees, in the beautiful land called heaven.

I still refuse to believe there are spiders, snakes, or bats, though.

Anyway, the word “pattern” stuck in my mind.

Pattern.

It’s more than the instructions God gave to Moses. For one thing, the tent of meeting wasn’t just a place where the Israelites, the “called out ones”, could have a place to do church. It was a picture of God’s redemptive story and a powerful portrait of the Redeemer, Jesus the son of God. It was the pre-Calvary place where God and man could meet for fellowship.

“And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.” (Exodus 25:8-9 ESV)

“And this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.” (Numbers 8:4 ESV)

The pattern signifies the right way, God’s way, of doing something. Whether in ministry, family life, or on the job. It reveals the way we should treat others, entertain ourselves, and even leave this life for the next.

“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:13 ESV)

We’re admonished, as Moses was, to do everything according to the pattern. Notice another word from Paul:

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17 ESV)

You see, when Jesus instructed us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven…”, it wasn’t an exercise in futility. God doesn’t give busywork.

It was a pattern.

It IS THE pattern. Whatever’s in heaven, let it be on earth.

It’s how things on earth are changed. It’s the way healing prevails over sickness. It’s how life conquers death. Man becomes a new creation in Christ, through faith in the pattern.

And it’s how the new, recreated child of God, is to live. Just like the pattern.

Jesus.

How can the pattern change your world? Care to discuss it?