Everyday Christianity: The Presence of the Lord (1)
“Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Exodus 33.3
“…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28.20
Abundantly blessed, but…
Even the most superficial analysis of the Church in America today will suggest that, despite recent scandals and declines, Christians and their churches seem to be doing pretty well. Everyday Christianity seems to be holding its own, if not flourishing.
New churches are starting every week, and new mega-churches crop up with regularity. Christians appear to enjoy their churches and their Christian friends.
Existing churches that are not abounding in good facilities and a wide assortment of programs are at least holding their own with the resources God has given them.
Money is flowing into the churches and out from them to a wide range of ministries and services in local communities and around the world.
A Christian subculture of media, publishing, online presence, and Christian products and services continues to grow. And Christian education at every level, and in an array of forms, is flourishing like never before.
Truly, Christians in America seem to be a people abundantly blessed with the good things of the Lord. If we’re not dwelling in the land of promise, at least we think we can see it from here.
And yet…
It is difficult to reconcile all that abundant blessing with the strictly marginal impact the Church has on the morality and social issues of the day. Christian congregations and endeavors are flourishing, yet they seem hardly to affect people beyond the pale of faith, and our nation continues its steady downward spiral into relativism, hedonism, tribalism, and serfdom, dragging along its God-given resources.
For all the political activism Christians have undertaken over the past generation, we don’t have much to show for it in the way of genuine Kingdom fruit. Patch-on solutions—such as overturning Roe v Wade—serve only to show that the heart of sin still thrives in our midst.
We as Christians lack the power and perhaps the will to persuade our neighbors to forsake their materialistic hopes and seek the Kingdom not of this world. The Christian worldview, such as it is, holds little thrall for contemporary secular and postmodern people.
What’s going on here?
Thanks, but no thanks
Surely, we would expect that, wherever it seems the blessings of God are abounding, as they appear to be in today’s churches, many people would come seeking the grace of God. But it’s not happening.
The reason is that, as happy and growing as many churches are, people all around us consider themselves sufficiently “blessed” without the added duties and what they perceive as the hypocrisy and irrationality of organized religion. When they consider going to church—if they ever do—their attitude is “Thanks, but no thanks.”
What do they see in today’s Christians to make our unsaved neighbors want to give up their comfortable way of life and join us in following Jesus? Having sufficient blessing of their own, most of our neighbors simply decline to commit to Christ, and they might prefer that we keep our religion to ourselves.
But if Jesus Christ Himself were present, in all His radiant glory, holiness, mercy, and love, amid our churches and in the daily lives of His people, would people be as indifferent—even hostile—to the faith as they seem today? When Jesus walked the earth, people flocked to Him by the multiplied thousands, both seekers and detractors, because His Presence in authority, holiness, power, and love was so compelling.
Could it be that the churches today have settled for milk and honey from the Lord and have neglected to seek His Presence as the greatest blessing of all? Because of His great love for His Church, God will continue to care for us for a time, even though we fail to seek His Presence and are compromised in sin. This, after all, was what He offered to ancient Israel, the blessings without the Presence.
But the greatest blessing, the one that compels the attention of the watching world, the one that Moses sought for Israel, and the one that energizes the Body of Christ with spiritual power from beyond this material arena, is the very Presence of God with His people. Jesus has promised to be with us always, to make His Presence known in and through us for the glory of God in all we do. Do we want to know that Presence?
For this—the Presence of Christ in power—is precisely what we have lost sight of in our day.
For reflection or discussion
1. What do you understand by the “Presence” of God? How and when do you experience His Presence?
2. What did Jesus mean, or what did He intend for us, by promising to be with us always?
3. What effects and what difference would it make if we knew more of the Presence of the Lord in our day?
Next steps—Transformation: Seek the Presence of the Lord Jesus today and every day so that you know Him with you always and are transformed by His joy.
T. M. Moore
Men, check out the fall schedule of reading and study groups. You can register now by going here. Take a look at the clearance sale in our bookstore. All the books in our inventory are free. Order several for yourself and some friends.
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
A spiritual life is a disciplined life in every facet. How does this work out? Our book, A Disciplined Life, can help you review and improve your own disciplines toward a more robust walk with and work for the Lord. For a free PDF of The Disciplined Life, click here. And while you’re there, download a free PDF copy of our book, Enjoying God.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
