{"id":8660,"date":"2022-12-08T15:49:03","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T20:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?p=8660"},"modified":"2022-12-08T15:49:03","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T20:49:03","slug":"remaining-in-gods-presence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/remaining-in-gods-presence\/","title":{"rendered":"Remaining in God\u2019s Presence"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you were given the task of requiring two books that every Christian needed to read, apart from the Bible, what books would you assign? For me (as it stands today, at least), it would be Foxe\u2019s Book of Martyrs<\/em> (John Foxe) and The Practice of the Presence of God<\/em> (Brother Lawrence) (download the book<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Foxe\u2019s Book of Martyrs<\/em> has the rare capacity to simultaneously humble and reinvigorate the reader. Every time I read portions from this book, it helpfully contextualizes my own \u201csuffering\u201d while igniting a zeal for Christ; one built upon the courage of men and women who have stood firm for the Lord and His gospel dating back millennia. But that\u2019s all for a different blog\u2026<\/p>\n

Brother Lawrence<\/h2>\n

The Practice of the Presence of God<\/em> looks at the Christian walk from a different angle. Brother Lawrence, a 17th<\/sup> century lay brother in a Paris priory, organized his life around the central fixation of abiding in the presence of God<\/em>. Everything he did, all the decisions he made, all the words he chose\u2014everything\u2014came down to one essential question: will this drive me further into God\u2019s presence or away from Him? In recounting his interaction with Brother Lawrence, Joseph de Beaufort claims, \u201cThe worst trial [Brother Lawrence] could imagine was losing his sense of God\u2019s presence\u201d (12).<\/p>\n

He accomplished this perennial presence through continually talking to the Lord throughout the day (1 Thessalonians 5:17). All his daily tasks and interactions were God-saturated as he sought to give glory to Him in his religious duties and the mundane, alike (1 Corinthians 10:31). His entire life was painted with a Christ-colored brush, enabling him to remain in His presence at all times.<\/p>\n

Country Chapel<\/h2>\n

On my drive home from work, I pass a small private chapel in the country that can hold no more than a dozen people. The structure itself is well kept and the surrounding landscaping shows it to be a place that is well loved and frequented. There\u2019s a strange peace that comes over me as I imagine going in to spend some time in secluded fellowship with the Lord. Brother Lawrence paints a similar illustration:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t necessary that we stay in church in order to remain in God\u2019s presence. We can make our hearts personal chapels where we can enter anytime to talk to God privately. These conversations can be so loving and gentle, and anyone can have them\u201d (22).<\/p>\n

Neither spatial location nor circumstance needs to limit your fellowship with the Lord. While it\u2019s good to carve out intentional secluded time with Him (Matthew 6:6), Christians always have access to our internal secluded country chapel, according to Brother Lawrence. After all, those in Christ \u201care a temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you\u201d (1 Corinthians 3:16).<\/p>\n

Loving Him with All<\/h2>\n

Not only is that access continually available; it\u2019s consistently commanded. Scripture presses us to remain in God\u2019s presence will all our heart<\/em> (Matthew 6:21), with all our soul<\/em> (John 15:4-11), with all our mind<\/em> (Colossians 3:2-4), and with all our strength<\/em> (Galatians 5:16-25). This requires heeding the warning that Christ gave to the church in Ephesus during John\u2019s revelation. Jesus begins by commending them for their steadfast faithfulness against the crosscurrent of contravening doctrine,<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I have this against you, that you have left your first love<\/em>. Therefore remember from where you have fallen\u2026\u201d (Revelation 2:4-5a, emphasis added).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to do all the right things while the central purpose is discreetly lost. I\u2019m sure your own life contains ample evidence of this common occurrence. Whether it\u2019s relationships, athletics, jobs, tasks, or anything else\u2014we have a tendency to fall into \u201cmission drift,\u201d where the habits remain intact, but the heart is elsewhere.<\/p>\n

The Ephesian church experienced this when they continued in their dutiful tasks while \u201c[leaving their] first love.\u201d Jesus was calling them back to Himself, that they may once more enjoy perpetual fellowship with Him. Sadly, history shows no indication that the Ephesian church meaningfully returned to Him\u2014a fate that terrified Brother Lawrence beyond all other suffering (of which he was intimately familiar).<\/p>\n

Coram Deo, Today<\/h2>\n

But I can hear the objection already: \u201cit was easy for Brother Lawrence: he was holed up in a religious priory\u2026 I live in the real world!\u201d I know the excuse all too well because I use it every time I revisit The Practice of the Presence of God<\/em>. Fortunately, the Word of God leaves no room for such diversions\u2014I, too, am able to have deep and perpetual intimacy with Christ, regardless of my calling in life. Because of Christ\u2019s atoning sacrifice and His indwelling Spirit, I\u2019m able to live coram Deo<\/em>: \u201cbefore the face of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revisiting the reference to the greatest commandment above, I\u2019m called to love God with all that I am (Luke 10:27). When that is the central fixation of my life, vast and abiding intimacy with Christ is not only possible: it\u2019s the natural result. Rather than listlessly sliding into \u201cmission drift,\u201d fight to live coram Deo<\/em> by loving God with all your:<\/p>\n