The Presence of God Among Us

 "Come to Me," He says.  "You have been the god of your own fantasy of the future, and it has brought you worry and pain.  Walk with Me into the future I have planned for you.  You will not know or understand where we are going; you will have to trust that I know and that I will never leave or abandon you.  You do not have to 'believe' anything about Me.  You will come to know Me on the journey as we walk together, sit together, stand together against all that threatens you."  --from yesterday's entry.

For several days, I have been writing about faith as a journey wherein we come to know God, not doctrines or statements about God, but God as a Person Who goes with us on the way.  Religion is supposed to point out the way to God, not be a substitute for a relationship with God Himself.  Too many people want to stop with "following the religion" as if that were God.  The entire history of the Old Testament is a history of God coming to man and of man saying, "Just give us the rules, but don't speak to us directly, or else we'll die."  The Israelites rescued from the slavery of Egypt just wanted Moses to be the intermediary -- they did not want to hear themselves the Voice of God.  But then, they rebelled against Moses:  "Who made you the leader?" they demanded in the desert, making Moses want to die rather than lead this people.

The problem with religion as our god is that it cannot 'go with us on the way.'  It should and does provide a safe harbor where people can find peace and a refuge from the world outside for a time; it should and does provide sound teaching so that people can distinguish light from dark; it should and does surround us with those who have found The Way and who are walking with God --- but it is not a substitute for God Himself. 

Today, I read from Jesus Calling:

Go gently through this day, keeping your eyes on Me.  I will open up the way before you, as you take steps of trust along your path.  Sometimes the way before you appears to be blocked.  If you focus on the obstacle or search for a way around it, you will probably go off course.  Instead, focus on Me, the Shepherd who is leading you along your life-journey.  Before you know it, the "obstacle" will be behind you and you will hardly know how you passed through it.

 

This is the secret of success in My kingdom.  Although you remain aware of the visible world around you, your primary awareness is of Me.  When the road before you looks rocky, you can trust Me to get you through that rough patch.  My Presence enables you to face each day with confidence.

 

This is the Gift that is given to the believer -- the Presence of Jesus, the Son of God, in our daily lives.  This is what all the sacrifices in the Old Testament, all the observances, could not bring.  When Jesus came, He said, "The kingdom of God is among you."  That's what the world was and is waiting for -- the Presence of God.  When it comes, will we recognize it?