God is Closer Than You Think

One mistake we as Christians often make is assuming that God is somewhere far off. We fail to see God as right here with us, and His glory among us. We fail to open our eyes and see God. In a sense, we fail to know much about God, and much of God.

I'm not a superstitious finatic who thinks that I can hear God's voice, or think that He reveals Himself in things such as dreams or grilled cheeses or animal crackers. I don't think that God necesarily gives us things that are meant to be extroadinary signs of His existence, except perhaps in a few cases to help someone who's faith is struggling.

But God is right here among us. His presence is here when it is just you alone at night, and His presence is even greater when two or more are gathered to worship Him in spirit and in truth (Matt 18:20). And even something that is not God Himself may be something that shows His glory.

What are some things that show His glory? Perhaps a corporate Body of Believers singing hyms of praise together in corporate worship. How about the sacraments of Baptism and Communion? Perhaps when a child is brought to life on earth, or when two people are made one through marriage. Or perhaps even, as put before, when you get lost in prayer that it seems as if God is your best friend.

This does not mean that one day of worship will be a revival for the history books. It doesn't mean that God's going to show all His glory at once. It doesn't mean that the elements in the Lord's Supper become the real physical substance of what they represent. But it does mean we must have a higher view of corporate worship and the sacrament of Communion. It's more than just a nice memorial; it's the place we have supper with Christ, who is among us. Corporate worship is where we ascend into God's presence and the gates of Heaven are opened up for us, and we worship with angels and archangles and all the company of Heaven.

Scripture often speaks of the gates of Heaven being opened up to someone. In the Old Testament and at the beginning of the New Covenant, God would give more direct signs to His People because they did not have the written Word, or many of the other advantages we have. Their access to God was limited, so God had to come down more in real voice and substance. So today we are not able to literally see Heaven, whereas, though only in certain rare situations, God may reveal Heaven to some of His People in the Old Covenant.

But it always seems as if Heaven was right among them. They simply had to be shown. We can not literally see Heaven now, but that does not mean it is not right among us. Heaven never moved. (It is not as if earth and Heaven are the same thing, but perhaps Heaven is some sort of parallel relation to the earth; a fourth dimension we can't see, or something like that.) The book of Revelation often pictures Heaven as right among us, as if there is simply a door in between (Rev. 3:8, 20; 4:1). It seems as if Heaven is right there. And although we can not literally see Heaven, we do have the ability to come into God's real presence through the name of Jesus Christ, something that people of the Old Testament may not have had. We do not have to go through a Priest, or our parents or ancestors, or an animal sacrifice to have any relation with God. All we need is Jesus Christ.

This simple yet profound theological idea, that God is right with us, gives us both a vision for God's Kingdom, and an idea of how we should live now. We have the vision that one day Heaven and earth will be joined. That our body and souls will be one. Many think that we are physical creatures with spiritual experiences, while others say that we are spiritual beings with a physical experience. The truth is we are meant to be both body and spirit, both together. In the Garden, Adam and Eve were with God. God was right among them talking to them. The Garden was in a real sense God's Kingdom. There may have been a Heaven, but it was one with the earth. But the Fall seperated it all. Our bodies and spirits are now apart, and our direct relationship with God is cut off. But in the end when all things are made new, it will all be one again, and we have everything and more of what we had in the Garden.

This idea is also relative to us here and now. We are told to make our bodies a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). Our many bodies are to be one Body in the Lord, and our many sacrafices are to be one sacrafice in the Lord. We should not be Christians merely as individuals, but as one People. And when we live as one People, we see God the most. When we reject community and friendship and become mere individuals, we can not function fully as a Christian. We need each other. It is one Body that is the Bride of Christ, not many bodies.

So in summary, God is closer than you think. He is right here with us. Unfortunately we live in a fallen world where Heaven, whether is be a fourth dimension or a parellel universe or whatever, is not fully revealed. But God does reveal some of it through worship, through heart-felt prayer, through the love Christians share together as friends, through Christians together singing hyms of praise, through the sacraments, etc. He does not show Himself in animal crackers or grilled cheeses as some may make millions off of believing. But He is right here among us.

So while friends should not be the only reason you go to church, perhaps it should be one reason. Friends can helps us come closer to God and see Him revealed to us.

What do you think?

God bless America

God bless His Church

July 11, 2008

Ryan Hampton