Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president

Do you have a favorite seat that you like to sit in? Several months ago, I was attending a rather large meeting and I usually like to sit towards the middle or back of the room. However, I arrived a bit later than normal that day and when I entered the room, those seats were taken.

I quickly scanned the room to locate the next best option. Soon I spotted a great spot. It wasn’t that close to the front and had a clear view of the stage. I quickly made my way to the spot and wondered why was this spot still open. It seemed like a perfect seat.

I settled into the seat and started to read the material for the meeting. The meeting started and I realized that my seat was far from perfect. I had not realized that there was a beam that was clearly obstructing the view of the screen. I spent the rest of the meeting leaning to view the screen so that I could keep up with the presentations. It was not the perfect seat.

Today in my private time with God I read about the perfect seat in the entire world. I would submit that it is the perfect seat in the universe. In Exodus 25:17 it says, “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. . .” What a great seat! There in the tabernacle the central focus of the entire place is the mercy seat.

In verse 20 it says that “the faces of the cherubim shall be towards the mercy seat.” God wants us to know that perfect seat is the mercy seat. It is a seat in the midst of the tabernacle that symbolizes the view that God has toward us. It is a seat that exists only because of the gift of Jesus.

I love the focus on the mercy seat by the cherubim.

This is to be our focus each day of our lives; To focus on the love and mercy of Jesus in our lives and all that He has done. It is transformative to fully understand the mercy of Jesus. Looking at what Jesus has done for us drives us to want to imitate Jesus and become more and more like Him. It also drives us to show mercy to those in our lives. It transforms our devotional life. It transforms our family life, our work lives and church lives.

As you grow spiritually this week, remember to focus on the perfect seat in the universe and Jesus who made that seat a reality.