And lo! I am with you always, even to the very consummation of the world (Matt 28:20).
Other than the last words in Matthew's Gospel, the last words of Jesus on earth, how do we know He is still among us, with us? Of course, every Christian will say that we know from Scripture, by faith -- and that is true. Faith is a kind of knowledge unknown to those who do not experience it.
But to those who know how to see spiritual realities, there is another way also of knowing that Jesus Christ is still among us. The joy He promised to the believer is evidence of His Presence. St. Dominic Savio, who died in his youth, said, "Joy is the surest sign of the Presence of God."
Jesus said at the Last Supper: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy (Jn. 16:22)....I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace(v.33)....I say these things while I am still in the the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them...I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them (17:13 & 26).
Here is what I have observed: wherever we are --- whether on the side of a moutain in Tennessee, on a cruise ship in the middle of the Carribbean, on in the backwoods of Mississippi -- it is possible to recognize almost instantly the followers of Jesus by their peace, love, and joy. The peace and joy they carry within them is not related to the circumstances of their lives or their financial condition or the church they attend. They face the same circumstances as those who do not follow Jesus, and yet their joy is evident to all around them.
Here is the entry for December 16 from God at Eventide (God Calling 2):
Poor indeed is the life that does not know the riches of the Kingdom. A life that has to depend on the excitement of the senses, that does not know, and could not realize, that delight, joy, expectation, wonder, and satisfaction that can be truly obtained only in the Spirit....I, Who change not, can supply the soul of man with joys and delights so varied as to bring ever-changing scenes of beauty before him. I am truly the same yesterday, today, and forever; but man, changing as he is led nearer and nearer to the realization of all I can mean to him, sees in Me new wonders daily. There can be no lack of glad adventure in a life lived with Me.
I have always said that walking with God is the greatest adventure in life, growing always in peace, love, and joy. Other adventures are spectacular, but fade with time. This adventure constantly surprises and delights, and never fades. And perhaps the best part is that it allows me to recognize on sight those who are sharing the same adventure with me. Within moments of meeting someone, my heart leaps with joy as I recognize within them the Spirit of Jesus, and His own peace, love, and joy. This is what the Bible calls "fellowship," a word I never heard in the Catholic church, but which I have been experiencing ever since the first moment of my baptism in the Holy Spirit.
As a child, I thought that heaven might be a boring place, but now that I have seen that it begins now, on earth, and now that I have experienced meeting other people who love Jesus and have heard their stories, I know that heaven is but the extension of this life -- with its continual renewal of joy, love, and peace in all we meet there.
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