They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. (Heb. 8:5)
Expanded Passage: Hebrews 7:11-17, 25; 8:1-7
There is something surreal about walking into a new home construction whose plans you helped create. While you know a little of what to expect from studying the drawings, you still experience unexpected awe when you walk into their reality. The paper plans could not possibly do the finished home justice.
Under the old covenant, Levitical priests served in a man-made sanctuary that symbolized the real thing. Every curtain, candle, and sacrifice pointed beyond itself to the heavenly reality of God’s presence. But now, through Jesus, we don’t approach a shadow; we come directly to the substance. The veil has been torn.
So many of us still live like we are on the outside looking in, going through the motions of faith, doing the “right things,” but missing the wonder of personal encounter. We read the Bible but forget it is a conversation. We attend church but overlook the Presence we’ve gathered around. We treat prayer like a task instead of an invitation.
Jesus draws us past religion into relationship, past symbols into substance. Through him, we have full access to the living God. When we worship, pray, or open Scripture, we stand in the reality of a covenant built on the better promise of grace that brings us near. Jesus opened the way into his presence; all that remains is our response.
Ask the Lord to reveal the beauty of his nearness today.
Elizabeth Rhyno is wife to Scott and mother to three adult children and two sons-in-law. She is an ordained pastor and entrepreneur. She enjoys helping people deepen their intimacy with God and grow in joyful purpose.
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
