Someone asked me, what is the most significant hindrance to being aware of God’s presence in your life? It was a simple answer….Me. Without the light of the living Christ, I am like a dead man walking in the world, unconscious of anything but my self-absorbed life.
One day touched by the tender grace of God, my eyes responded to the marvelous light shining in the darkness, and the Holy Spirit revealed the depths of God’s love for me. It was at that time I embraced the Spirit of Christ living in me. Yet, even with that unbelievable experience and the promise of the resurrected Christ dwelling within me, I continued to live as if Christ was somewhere out there, still waiting for discovery. So also, the hope of eternal life is something that occurs when I die.
I sought to be aware of His abiding presence, but time and time again, I separated myself from God by focusing on my shortcomings and failure to live up to what I thought God expected of me. Paul declares we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Instead of living and focusing on the glory of God, I was in bondage, feeling like I was falling short of His glory instead of being aware of the beauty that you and I are brothers and sisters and joint-heirs of Christ.
The truth is if Christ lives in me, I am always in His presence. Every time I feel separated from God, I must reclaim the reality; Emmanuel God is with us all the time. Richard Rohr says it well. “We are already in the presence of God. What’s absent is awareness.” Jesus said I would never leave you or forsake you. Claim that promise today, being aware you are always in the presence of God, and nothing can separate you from His love but your continual focus on your failure instead of His never-ending love for you.
1 Corinthians 6:19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, NLT.
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Center for Action and Contemplation
