Wednesday, March 5, 2014

IN HIS PRESENCE

                Last week I had the privilege of escaping the Minnesota winter and basking in the warmth of Arizona. Just to put things into perspective, when we left Arizona it was 70 degrees. When we arrived in Minnesota three hours later, it was minus 12 degrees. What a contrast!

                One morning, we went out for breakfast at a local restaurant in Scottsdale. As we were waiting for our food, I glanced out of the window and saw a man, dressed in a suit, standing outside. What made him stand out was that he had an ear-bud in one ear. I commented that he looked like a secret service agent. A few minutes later, I saw another man leading a dog around each of the cars parked beside the restaurant. My first thought was that he was looking for drugs. I thought that was odd, given the location. Several minutes later, the mystery came clear. A cavalcade of police motorcycles roared into the parking lot, followed by several black cars and more motorcycles. The cars pulled up to the front of the restaurant and out stepped the Vice-President of the United States, Joe Biden. He entered the restaurant to the excited applause of the assembled diners.  

                Whatever your political bent is, the arrival of someone in such a high position causes a certain amount of awe and wonder. There is a thrill just being in the same space. It is exciting to be able to tell others that you have actually seen the Vice-President in person.

                There is a person far greater than the Vice-President who makes his arrival in our lives on a daily basis. Unfortunately, we often fail to recognize his presence. We go on with the routine of life as if he were not there. Yet this person doesn’t want to be gawked at from a distance. This person wants to sit down and have breakfast with us. This person is Christ.

                There is a passage in the book of Revelation that we often use for evangelistic purposes. Yet, in its context, it is written to believers (as well as unbelievers). It is Revelation 3:20.  Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Jesus says that He is standing at the door of our life, seeking entrance, so that He can have fellowship with us. He is just waiting for us to open the door. It is like the Vice-President standing at the door of that restaurant, waiting to come in, but no one noticed or opened the door for him. How ridiculous would that be? Yet, Jesus stands at the door of our life, and waits for us to open it to Him.

                I have been actively, intentionally living with the reality of the presence of God for the past couple of months. I was stirred by God’s words to Moses, when Moses asked Him what His name was, and He declared “I Am.” He is the God who is always present. We don’t have to go searching for Him. He is not hiding. He is not ensconced in a high castle, inaccessible to common folk. He is the God we meets us at the breakfast table every morning.

                One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 139. It reminds us that we are never far away from God’s presence. It is both a comfort and a challenge to me. It is a comfort, because I know that no matter what the circumstances are, God has not abandoned me. It is a challenge, because I cannot hide from God’s presence. I cannot live as if He doesn’t exist, or doesn’t know what I am doing. God is the ever present one.

                Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. Psalm 139:7-12

                When Vice-President Biden entered that restaurant, there was no way that I could have gotten close to him. He was surrounded by secret service agents and police. Had I tried to approach him uninvited, I would have been blocked. I could observe him from a distance, but not up close and personal. Not so with Christ.

                When Jesus walked this earth, he consistently made time for the people trapped on the fringes of the crowd; the women plagued with bleeding, the blind man on the side of the road, the leper who was forced to stay at a safe distance. His disciples tried to shield Jesus from the common people, but he would have none of it. Instead he took the initiative to reach out to all who desired to come close to him. He still does.

                Paul reminds us that the love of Christ is always available to us. There are not barriers that can separate us from the God who is.

                Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39


                I confess that it was exciting being that close to the Vice-President (even if I am not a fan of his). Somehow I need to cultivate that same excitement at the reality that I am in the presence of the Creator of the universe. I don’t have to admire Him from a distance. He wants to sit at my breakfast table and share life with me. 

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