Many times in life I seem to find myself wholly wrapped up in the work that needs to be done around me. I see find myself so focused on what i perceive to be God's calling on my life and the steps that I must take to get to that calling. I look at what needs to be done to obtain the future that I think God has for me and all the while neglect the one true calling that should be the primary calling in my life and that is to know God and Christ in a deep, personal, and intimate level. I love spending time in the presence of God and so many times I leave that place feeling refreshed and renewed; ready to go out and take on the world for my savior but there-in lies a problem. If I have to leave God's presence to go and save the world for Him then am I really doing anything good or significant? You see Jesus was led by the Spirit every where He went. That's what made Him who He was and it's what caused Him to be the man He was. I know that Jesus was more than just a man but was God incarnate but what we must remember is that He gave up that God status when He came down to us. He was no longer God in the sense that He had all this understanding and foreknowledge about what was to come. He was fully man and therefore had to be led like a man. So if Christ was fully man then how is it that He had more of an impact on this world then anyone before or since? It was because of the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit in His life during His time here. He was led by the Spirit of God on where He needed to go, who He was to talk to, and who He was to touch. He never left the presence of God until the crucifixion.
So how does this translate to our lives? How do we get to the place to where we can be in Gods presence everyday of our lives? I think that comes only with an understanding of this one simple concept: Our lives are not meant to go out and do His work, nor go out and save the world for the kingdom but rather just to simple live in relationship with Him. I believe that if more Christians simply focused on Christ and only on Christ then we would begin to see the world change. Christians would be some of the most loving, understanding, and non-judgmental people out there. If I am driving and get hit by another vehicle I can look at that and understand that, as long as it doesn't hurt or affect my relationship with God, it doesn't matter. I can be shot, beaten, bludgeoned, maimed, paralyzed, or whatever and be okay because I know and understand that it will not break my relationship with Christ. If I failed at everything I did at life but still walked with God and knew Him in a deep and personal way then I will have succeeded (although I do believe that if we follow God as He leads us we will have more success and impact then if we tried to do it ourselves). Our sole purpose in this life is to just simply know God and to follow Him wherever He leads us. To simply say "God wherever you are, that's where I want to be. You're going to Taco Bell well then looks like I am going to Taco Bell, You lead me to Syria to minister to the jihadis well then I guess I am going to Syria." Think about it like this: There is a road ahead of you. Its long and seems to go for as far as the eye can see with many twists and turns along the way. You have no idea where this road goes and can see a ton of cut offs and side roads that lead off the main path. Some of those side roads even look inviting at times because the main road can get dull at one point and very scary at another but all along the way there is God. He started this walk with you as far back as you could remember and all along the way He has just walked beside you. There have been times in your life though that He has had to wait on the main road while you decided to go play on a side street before realizing that the side street led to a pit or a dark forest, or a carnival with evil clowns. He waited on you until you came back to the road. He looks at you and smiles and says "ready to go?" There have been other times where you look down the road and you pause as He takes a couple of steps ahead before pausing and looking back at you, assuring you it will be alright. As you walk this road you talk about life, about your future, your dreams, your fears, past and present memories, and everything in between. Along the way you have noticed bystanders just chilling out on the side of the road and God stops to place a hand on them and then looks at you to invite those people to walk with you. So you say "hey mister come follow and walk with me and this big man here and join in on our conversation and fun." Then finally when the road comes to an end at this HUGE gate and walls He stops and mimicking a captain on an airplane (Gods funny like that) says "We have arrived at our final destination. pshhh welcome to your new home. psshhh I hope you have enjoyed your travels with us this life time and look forward to seeing you again on the other side." After you both laugh you look around and for the first time notice all the people that have joined in on your walk. There are people as far as the eye can see to the left and to the right. They are all different sizes and colors and all have different stories about how and where God touched them and you asked them to join in the walk. You realize then that you had been so focused on building that relationship and enjoying the walk with God that you had never really gave much thought to just how many people you had asked to come with. Besides all you did was just ask a question after you saw Him touch the person...you just thought it was kind of common sense to ask because if He wanted them to join then they must be fun right? That is how in my opinion life with Christ should look
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