Physical Presence

As parents we often feel ill-equipped in the things we face. Out of our depth. Caught off guard. And we feel alone.

We ask, “Where is Jesus?” “Where is He when I need Him?”

The answer to that question is two-fold.

First: He has left us.

But, also: He is in us and with us in ways we’ve barely begun to access.

To the first point, Jesus left us a long time ago. He warned His disciples of it:

“But now I am going away to Him who sent Me [and] sorrow has filled your heart.”
– John 16:5, 6

2,000 years later we still miss His physical presence. It makes it difficult for us to see how He can be “with us” as He promises.

But Jesus continued:

“It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you.”
– John 16:7b

This is the second point: “God with us” – in this era – means He has made us His physical and spiritual presence in the world.

Jesus knew how significant the Holy Spirit was in Him and in His accomplishments. So much so, He was excited to leave us – so we could begin to experience and achieve similar things.

Here is how significant He was for Jesus: The Holy Spirit foretold Jesus and His coming. The Holy Spirit miraculously caused Mary to conceive Jesus. It was the Holy Spirit who descended on Jesus at His baptism. "Full of the Spirit and led by the Spirit" He went into the wilderness. The Holy Spirit empowered Him for perfection and for each miracle…
It is difficult to find anything Jesus did on earth which was not accompanied and empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

In C.S. Lewis’ Paralandra, the protagonist, Ransom, finds himself face-to-face with a human body, animated by the Devil. Ransom despairs and cries out to God: Why is the Devil here – in the flesh – and You are nowhere to be found? You’ve allowed the Devil incarnate to come against me, a mere human! Where are You? Why won’t You, Yourself incarnate, come do battle with him?

Then, with awe and trepidation, he realizes the profound truth: God had sent him. Because of Jesus, he – Ransom – is God’s Spirit incarnate. God, in the flesh.

“Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.”
– 1 Corinthians 12:27

Yes – we should pray for spiritual help for what we face.
But then realize Jesus' work was to equip you – to redeem you for your original task.
• Listen to God’s Spirit, who is in you, for what He would have you do.
• What words is He giving you to speak? When would He have you speak them?
• What action is He asking you to take? In what attitude does He want you to do these things?

How does He want to glorify God through you – cultivating spiritual fruit and redemption in the people and world around you?