“I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matthew 28:20

The truth revealed to us in the Bible is that Jesus is present with us. My hope is that this Scripture will give us not only a better understanding of the presence of Jesus with us, but also a better practice of his presence. This will certainly affect our devotional practice of scripture reading, prayer, and obedience.

The Bible tells us that Jesus came to this earth, lived a righteous live, died on the cross, rose again, ascended to heaven, intercedes for us, and is going to return again someday. Thus, Jesus is gone and we wait for his return. Yet, Jesus is with us. How do we put these two realities together? The teaching of the Bible is that Jesus is here through his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, as we wait for his return. Our relationship with Jesus is not face to face, but is by faith through the Spirit. We have his promise that he is always with us. And so we talk to Jesus, we listen for his voice, we learn from him through the scriptures, and we obey him. We live by faith.

The presence of Jesus speaks to the realities of human experience. First, it speaks to our loneliness. Because of the fall (Genesis 3) we are alienated from God and from each other. Even the experience of faith involves times where God’s presence is not apparent.(Psalm 88) But the truth is that Jesus is with us, to the very end of the age.

Secondly, boredom is a reality of human experience. Boredom is essentially lack of a sense of purpose or meaning in our lives. Boredom is an indicator of our condition, and spurs us to either change our perspective or our behavior. The truth is that our lives do have meaning and purpose because Jesus is with us and calling us to serve on his behalf. (John 20:21)

Thirdly, bitterness is a common human experience; a disposition of anger and resentment. Hebrews 12:15 warns us of the danger of bitterness. We must come to the place that we say “not my will but your will,” to God. And the presence of Jesus in our lives makes it possible for us to overcome bitterness. First, we can let go of bitterness because Jesus loves us. (Romans 8:37-39) Nothing can change that. Secondly, we are set free because Jesus is there to help us. (Hebrews 13:5-6) Lastly, we are empowered to serve with the gifts of the Spirit. (Ephesians 4:7-8) This gives our lives meaning and purpose.

The challenge for all of us is to know the truth – the truth that Jesus is with us. And then we are to live this truth. Certainly it will affect our devotional practices as we live with the mindset that Jesus is with us, always. May we experience the presence of Jesus as we worship him and obey him. May we ‘practice the presence of Jesus’ in our daily lives.

Pastor Tim, September 9, 2007