"Teaching them to be keeping all, whatever I direct you. And lo! I am with you all of the days till the conclusion of the eon! Amen!"
Matthews Account 28: 20, Concordant New Testament Translation
I was reminded of a question the other day. Not a question which I asked of another person, but one I have asked of God more than a few times. That question is, where are You, God? I believe that there are more than a few believers out there who have asked that very question of the Father at one time or another. I also believe that we ask this question due to our own lack of knowing who God truly is. Back in the day, when I would ask this of God, I had no idea who He was, or how it was that He related to my life. All I knew of God came from the teachings and the sermons of the church. From these teachings, I came to see God as someone Who was far distant from my everyday life. God is in heaven, and I'm here on earth living this human life. This is all part of the separation theology spoken and taught by those within the church. See, I was taught that it was my own sin which had driven a wedge between myself and God {Isaiah 59:2}. Therefore, when troubling times came, as is common in this life, I was left to wonder, where are You, God? So, I asked Him the question. More often than not, I failed to receive an answer, but I believe that this was due to my not knowing who I was within Him. I believe that this is the problem for many believers today, that we simply don't know of our life within the love of the Father. For if we knew this truth, we would never need to inquire of God where he is, we would already know in our hearts. So, where is He? Well, Jesus has spoken that we do not live a life separate from God, but in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}. Many Christians see the words Jesus speaks of "In that day" as some indication of a future event. But I believe that He was referring to the here and now. Jesus IS in the Father, we ARE in Him and He IS within us. This is the truth of our life lived within the love of the Father. Once we know and understand this, we never need ask God where He is.
I recall the days after my mother passed as being some of the most difficult times I had ever faced. Up until that point, I had never faced death on a personal level. I had been praying to God for some time that He would heal my mother and relieve her from the pain she was feeling each day. Predictably, when she passed away, my first thought was why God had not answered my prayer, but those of all who had been praying for her. For the first time in my life, I was angry with God. In my mind, he had abandoned me when I needed Him the most. That wasn't supposed to happen. I asked the question, where are you, God? This time, I felt His answer in my heart. The answer was simple, she's no longer suffering. By not knowing who God truly is, I had been blinded into thinking that He had abandoned me, something He has promised me that He would never do {Deuteronomy 31:6}. Had I known the truth of my life within the Father at that point, it's possible that I would not have had to wonder where He was in my time of need. But, as they say, knowledge often comes through life experience. I believe that I had to endure this in order to understand who God truly is. I now know that God is not some far off entity simply watching over my daily life. That life is lived within Him. There is nothing I will ever do or experience that He will never be intimately involved in. In the difficult times, it is He Who guides me. I never need to ask Him where He is, for I already know.
In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you
Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament Translation
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment