The Presence of God

You know that moment when you read a passage in Scripture that you've read a thousand times and suddenly you see it in a new light? That happened to me this morning. I was reading Luke 10: 38-41, a passage about Mary and Martha. Now, most of you women probably think you know where I'm going with this. Don't be too busy. Don't forget to take the time to spend with the Lord. Just hang in there with me, okay?

Verse 40 says, "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'"

I have a confession. Lately I have felt alone in my Christian faith. I know that God is with me, of course, but sometimes I look around me and wonder if anyone else gets it. I'm over here reading my Bible daily, praying, and living every day trying to glorify God. I look around me and say to God, "Don't you see how hard I'm working? Why isn't everyone else?"

Let's hit the pause button for a second. Spiritual discipline is necessary for spiritual growth. I am not downplaying the importance of spiritual disciple. However, the faith journey without relationship is empty. A body without a heart is a robot, right? In order to grow in our faith, we need spiritual discipline and relationship.

In verse 41, Jesus responds. "'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed - or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"

My wonderful, godly friends, please know that your relationship with God is not defined by your relationship with your Bible. You are not defined by the underlinings and frayed pages. You are defined by your submission to Christ. You are loved. You are known. You are not loved because you choose to love God. 1 John 4:19 says that God loved us first. You don't have sit down and read your Bible for half an hour in order to come into the presence of God. You don't have to turn on worship music in order to come into the presence of God. You don't have to prepare your heart to come into the presence of God. All you have to do to come into the presence of God is go into the presence of God. Did Mary prepare things for Jesus so that he would be comfortable before she came into his presence? Did she fuss about her hair? Did she spend 10 minutes of quiet time analyzing her spiritual life? No, no, no. She saw Him. She went to Him. She sat down. And she listened.

There is no formula for a spiritual experience. There is no set standard for worshiping God. There is no "order of events" that needs to take place for you to feel His love. I want to invite you today to come into His presence. Don't worry about preparing your heart in advance so you can truly mean it when you apologize for your sin. Don't worry about reading Scripture so that you can understand who He is better. Take some time, quiet your spirit, and approach God. Remember, He loved us first. He's waiting for you.