08/07/2023
Living our lives with Jesus is more than attaching a series of disjointed moments that have been separated by periods of time in which He is absent into something we then call our faith. God is never here and then gone, but is with us always and in all things. Our Lord Jesus doesn't abandon us to our own devices only to return once we have sufficiently screwed things up... He is with us always, and our relationship with Him is meant to be our unwavering focus.
When Jesus was a 12 year old boy and His parents had taken Him with them to Jerusalem, He stayed behind when the family left to return home to Nazareth. When they realized that He wasn't with any of their relatives in the caravan they were distraught and returned looking for him, only to find Him (after three days) in the temple speaking with the teachers. Now this is the place where I would have expected a spanking or some other form of punishment to have been administered when I was a boy, but they didn’t do this, and as they began to admonish him this occurred...
“And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?””
Luke 2:48-49 ESV
Following this talking-to by His earthly parents Jesus returned home with them, and submitted himself to their authority, but this incident also demonstrates the degree to which God the Father was active in Him, and in His life. It tells us that although he was subject to his earthly parents that first and foremost Jesus knew that He was a child in the house of His Heavenly Father.
“And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”
Luke 2:51-52 ESV
Our lives should be equally engaged with God. We have been instructed by scripture to pray without ceasing... we do this because God is with us always, not just in certain moments when He is needed to strengthen our waning faith, or to Him talk sense to us, nor as we seek him during a meaningless act of routine, or habit. No, He is there because He is in us… always. His words are powerful, true, and meant to be obeyed. He is not simply talking just to hear Himself talk.
“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."”
John 14:20-21 ESV
My mother used this expression when I was a boy. If I did something against her instructions, she would ask me the rhetorical question "Did you think I was just talking to hear myself talk?" To which the proper response was "No Ma'am." I am certain that this had been passed down in my family through the generations. It applies to obeying one’s parents, but it pertains equally to our faith and prayer life. When we are instructed to pray without ceasing it is valuable instruction, and when we pray, our words are not just spoken to the wind... God is there, and hears every one we speak.
Oswald Chambers asks some telling questions and then leads us to their answer when he writes these words:
"-- are you so identified with the Lord's life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that all things come from His hands? Is the Eternal Child in you living in the Father's house? Are the graces of His ministering life working out through you in your home, in your business, in your domestic circle? Have you been wondering why you are going through the things you are? It is not that you have to go through them, it is because of the relation into which the Son of God has come in His Father's providence in your particular sainthood." - Oswald Chambers
God is with us and in us always... this is not a question we should ask ourselves, but is a statement of faith, and of how much reign we are giving Him over our lives. Are you yielding to God in every aspect of your life? Are you allowing what had started as a seed within you to flourish, grow, and bear fruit, so that everyone who knows you can see? Are your prayers offered without ceasing and not just out of obligation, but with the full expectation that every word is heard and acted on by God? The answer to these questions will tell us if we have remained behind in Jerusalem, and they will define the depth of our unceasing prayers. God is with us always, and when He tells us this He isn’t just talking to hear Himself talk.
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:15-17 ESV
Prayer:
Father I thank you for being with me and in me always. I thank you for allowing me to speak to you, and I pray that I will faithfully follow your instructions in my life. Holy Father it is my prayer that I not hear your admonishment as I heard my mother's when she said: "Did you think I was just talking to hear myself talk?" Lord give me the obedience needed to perform every command and fulfill every wish, desire, and will, you have for me. Let me dwell in your house Father, and in so doing, let Jesus Christ teach me as He guides my life of faith towards righteousness. Be with me now and always Lord, and let me realize your presence in its fullest as I obey your Word.
“But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!””
Luke 11:28 ESV
Rich Forbes