A rich kid does not fear poverty, he mocks it. He is shaped by wealth. It influences his decisions, behaviors, and attitudes. You might say a rich kid will never truly understand poverty.
In a similar way, I don’t know God without Jesus. For us, Jesus has always been God. He is about love and second chances, right? Just as the rich kid cannot comprehend poverty, you and I cannot comprehend God without Jesus. But what if we try?
Exodus 34 is far from a comprehensive picture of God, but it’s a start. When I read it, I realize how little I’ve had to follow “the rules.” I eat what I want—bacon and lobster, for example. I work on Sundays. I say God’s name out loud when I stub my toe.
But freedom from the rules isn’t the only benefit.
Because of Jesus, we don’t have to slit the throat of a young goat or twist the neck of a calf so that our sins might be forgiven. I’ve never been kept from entering the Holy of Holies—the most sacred place, where God dwells.
You might say we are spoiled.
Spoiled people forget. They forget the cost and the sacrifice—the blood, sweat, and tears required to make this access possible. Maybe that’s why we have Good Friday—because there was a cost. A cost far greater than I can fully understand.
God made it clear that “no one may appear before me without an offering” (Exodus 34:20).
That offering was—and is—Jesus.
To be unspoiled is to be grateful. But we cannot be truly grateful without understanding the cost that made it possible.