Friday, January 3, 2020

Looking For God



"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2: 20 NKJV

I don't know how many times I've said it.  How is it that I can believe in a God that I can't see?  Indeed, if I can't see Him is He even there?  Of course this is a silly question, but I've heard it all too often in my Christian life.  Usually it's from someone who is struggling to "see" the God which the mainstream church has been trying to show them.  Well, if this is the God you're looking for, you might never find Him.  For this is the God of separation.  We're told from a young age that God, and Jesus for that matter, are in heaven watching over us.  In fact, the best that we can ever hope to do is to somehow "be more like Jesus" through our good behaviors.  Yet, as most always happens in human behavior, we will always fall short of those expectations.  We will always be left to wonder, "where are you God?"  Well, there is indeed good news for everyone who has ever asked that question.  There is good news for anyone who has ever felt like they've failed in their search to find God.  The trouble with this is that all too often we're looking in the wrong place.  With our eyes lifted to the sky we pray, and pray some more that we will finally find Him.  Sadly, few people realize that their search was in vain.  That is, that God was closer than they ever realized.  The apostle Paul tells us that Jesus Himself lives in us today {Galatians 2:20}.  I'm always surprised when I hear from others that they never realized this or read this scripture.  I have the mainstream church to thank for that, of course.  We've been conditioned to see God as being separated from sinful man.  I get it.  Yet, Paul also tells us in Romans that we are now dead to sin {Romans 6:11}.  That old man has long since died.

Jesus said to Him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20: 29 NKJV

There have been plenty of times where I've felt like poor Thomas, waiting for Jesus to show me some proof of His being.  Does Jesus really need to prove Himself to anyone?  How arrogant is it for us to think this way?  The very proof of Christ which we seek is all around us in our Lords creation.  Indeed, when we see God, we see Jesus as well.  Thomas asked for proof of the existence of Jesus.  See, he'd been through the crucifixion of his friend and teacher, so I don't fault him for thinking that Jesus indeed was dead and gone.  I've been there, in a matter of speaking.  Despite knowing that Jesus rose from the dead, I asked Him to prove it.  If I could not see Him, was He even there?  Well, the truth of Jesus is that He's always been there with us {John 1:1-3}.  There has never been a moment where Jesus ever doubted that He was with me, so why would I doubt Him?  Because, like Thomas, we demand proof of what we believe in.  If that apple never fell from the tree would we accept the premise of gravity?  However, it is Christ who transcends all which we believe in.  We can trust that not only will He always be with us, but that if we seek Him we will find Him.

~Scott~  

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