Journey Outside the Camp

Practising the presence of God

I've been heads down working on new Sunday School lessons since December (hence the scarcity of posts). One of the series that my wife and I are working on is called Christian Fundamentals. Not the world's best title but it's a follow-up series for our gospel lessons based on The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John R. Cross. At the end of the The Stranger, the class now understands the gospel and believes. But the immediate question is: "What do I do now that I believe?" That's where Christian Fundamentals comes in to answer those questions and show what new believers should do to get closer to God.

One of the things we talk about is seeking God's face daily. And the phrase I lit upon was from Brother Lawrence's book, Practicing the Presence of God.

That title really struck a chord with me. As I wrote the lesson, I started to work out for myself just how to practise his presence. God is always here with me. It was just a matter of me “invoking my own presence” as author Mark Buchanan puts it in his book Your God is too Safe.

It is sweet to be in God’s presence. It is sweet to be able to relate to him throughout the day, sharing problems and sensing him respond in many different ways. I asked him for some advice on a work matter. Within the day, I had a chance to get feedback and advice from a colleague. Just one example of how I could hear God respond when I spent time tuning in to him.

I’m learning as I prepare the lessons. I’m learning to seek his face. Instead of just glancing generally in God’s direction, to really focus, like a twist of the camera lens to bring him into sharp relief.

1 Chronicle 22:19
Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God.

Colossians 3:1–2
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Slavery to religion; freedom in Christ

People have the idea that being a Christian is being moulded to be a certain type of person armed with a list of dos and don’ts. They have the notion that Christianity pushes certain paradigms that force restrictions on people. For example, men are the head of the house; women must be submissive. You have to behave properly. You need to avoid bars. Rock music is bad. You cannot swear. You mustn't have dirty thoughts. You need to become intolerant of other people’s beliefs. And on and on. Being a Christian therefore is restricting yourself. You are chained and gagged. You become a slave.

That is so far from the truth. The truth is, we are slaves to sin. Whether we admit to it or not, that's the actual truth. Deep in our gut, we know we are sinful. Some people are better than others at glossing over this fact. “I’m not a bad person. I give to charity. I’m kind to my co-workers. I help my neighbours.” But even these people have moments of bare honesty and know they are sinners.

God wants us to be free from sin. He wants us to be free from the shackles of sin so that we can become who he created us to be: men and women who were created to find their best joy in worshiping God. In his mercy, God sent Jesus to take on our sin and the punishment we deserve in order to restore the freedom that actually belongs to us. When we believe, we are made new and can live free.

To let us see that we were created as people with freedom, recall what God said to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.

Genesis 1:27–28
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to take charge of the whole earth. He didn’t give them specific commands on how to do it. He let them think for themselves and choose how to take care of the earth. They were free. But as the Bible records, they chose to believe Satan instead of God and in their act of rebellion, they lost their freedom and became slaves to sin and Satan.

Jesus came to right that and set us free.

Galatians 5:1
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

1 Peter 2:16
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Believing in Christ sets us free. Free to be alive. Free to be our real selves. Free to joyfully worship God because that’s the best thing to do in life. Being with God gives us the most happiness and pleasure. Why wouldn’t we want that? Why remain a slave to sin and an enemy of God when you can be a free and adopted son of the Lord of the universe?

Who's in the driver's seat?

My wife was speaking to a friend who had trouble letting God take charge in her life. This friend said that she was the kind of person who liked to be in the driver’s seat, and she found it very difficult to relinquish control. My wife gave her the following analogy which I found to be very useful.

Suppose the designer of the car wanted to drive you to the destination. The designer knows the car very well since he created it. He knows every nuance of the vehicle: how it turns, how it handles in wet weather, what speeds are optimal, etc. He can handle the car in any situation. He’s also a very good driver, always alert and never tired.

In addition, the designer also knows the way by heart. He knows all the points of interest, where the fuel stops are, the scenic spots and the dangers. He also knows what you like and can take you to interesting stops along the way. What’s more, he actually created the roads and highways too so he knows all the road conditions and he will never get lost.

In such a case, wouldn’t you like the designer to take the wheel and drive you to the destination? It would be such a pleasant drive. You can focus on the scenery and on the conversation.

God is that designer. He wants to take the wheel of our lives because he knows us better than we know ourselves. Why won’t we relinquish control of the steering wheel to such a person?

Direction, not perfection

One of the misconceptions about being a Christian is that we are goody two-shoes. People, including Christians themselves, think that once they believe on Jesus, they can become good people overnight.

How I wish that were true. It is true that believing on Jesus justifies us. This means that the punishment we deserve for sin we have (and for future sin we may commit) is paid for completely by Jesus. We can stand before God and be counted as righteous. That is what we call justification (see for example Romans 4:22–5:1).

That doesn't mean we gain perfection. That will only come with our resurrected bodies. In the meantime, together with God's help, we work on the process of sanctification. Romans 6:1–14 tells us that we need to fight to keep sin away from our bodies. Verse 12 says, "Do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies." Reign is the keyword here. The word reign conjures up images of rulers and slaves, kings and soldiers. Make no mistake, the process of sanctification is not a walk in the park. It is a daily battle of surrendering our body and mind to God, in order that we can be armed to fight sin in every area of our lives. Like the character of  Christian in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, we are on a journey, heading towards God's heavenly city. Galatians 5:16–24 reminds us to walk by the Spirit and we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. That to me is a clear indication that though we have been justified, the old sin nature still lurks beneath the surface. It is no surprise then, when it rears its ugly head and we by natural instinct obey its lusts. We are by no means perfect. But we are to use the Spirit and kill our sinful inclinations and keep marching on towards God.

This process we will never finish. We will always have more sin inside us to kill. But the promise of God is that "he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6). We will see perfection on the day of Jesus Christ. What a promise. So having faith and being justified is only the beginning. That work is God's alone. Sanctification is God's Spirit working in us as we direct our lives toward God himself. Justification brings direction, not perfection.

The people who pray

I came across a quote today about prayer that really struck home. It struck home not only because there is great truth in the words but because I know it was God reminding me to get on my knees a whole lot more. It just so happened that my wife and I were talking about our prayer life and she said we needed to spend more time praying. I told her we were already maxed out with our schedule. And then this morning I read these words from S. D. Gordon:

"The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time and pray. They have not time. It must be taken from something else. This something else is important—very important and pressing, but still less important and less pressing than prayer."

Yes, I will take more time to prayer. (Find out more about S. D. Gordon or read more of his writings from ChristiansUnite.com.)