WEEK FIVE: GOD IS HERE

Have you ever had one of those nightmares where you find yourself in a classroom being instructed to take a test but you never studied and have no idea what the test is supposed to be about? Or where you’re suddenly on stage expected to perform but you never learned the lines and have no idea what show you’re even in? Maybe dreams like these are simply a result of random anxieties or worries in our minds, but can you imagine how stressful it would be to find yourself in a situation like this in real life? These scenarios seem much less plausible in reality because we know that we have tools and resources we can use to make sure we never find ourselves in such a predicament. If someone signs up for a college course but never attends lectures or opens the textbook, it should come as no surprise that they would struggle on the final exam. If you were to pay to see a Broadway show and an actor seemed to be stumbling around confused and uncertain, you would probably be astounded that they would be so unprepared as they clearly didn’t take their responsibilities seriously by learning their script and attending rehearsals.

Jesus gives a distressing example similar to these in Matthew (7:22-23) when he says, “On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophecied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” This sounds truly like a nightmare… to believe that you were doing the work of God only to be rejected and told “I never knew you.”

Thankfully, along with this cautionary tale, Jesus gives us clear directives for how to avoid this catastrophe. It’s not about what we do for God; it’s about who we are with God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus frequently talks about how we can truly know God. Additionally, he demonstrates the key to being in close relationship with God by regularly going off on his own to spend time in the presence of God.

Getting our relationship with God right is much more important than acing a test or remembering our lines in a play. And we have everything we need to be able to know God. Miraculously and unfathomably, we have been given full access to God’s presence because of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. We can truly know God because we can experience God’s presence. Through studying God’s word, through prayer, through worship, through silence and solitude, through any of the “sacred pathways” that help us to feel closer to God, we can not only know the God of the universe but when we know God, we are given the incredible opportunity to reflect God’s glory and character to those around us. The more we are in the presence of God, the more we become like God. And there really isn’t anything better than that.