The Bible is misunderstood and misused. Why? Simply put, it's always misused when we don't understand the intent. When we don't understand its intent, we use it to create dogma (telling people what they must/have to believe) or moral law (how people must behave so as not to be punished by God). The intent of the Bible is this: God is always and progressively unveiling His desire to be with us. He wants to be with us now, not just in the hereafter. From Genesis 1 through Revelation 22, the entire Bible is an expression of God's desire to be with us. Jesus Christ, as God come down to man, had a descriptive name, Emmanuel. This name means 'God with us'. Redemption history is culminated in the book of Revelation with this expression, "I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever!" (Revelation 21:3-4). Here and now, He wants to be with us. Hereafter, God wants to be with us. Jesus Christ is Emmanuel - God with us! Life with God is the awareness, moment by moment, that He is present and participating. Real life happens right now. It is bursting forth with interesting, relevant, frightening, amazing things and people. Jesus is the *I am*. He is always in the moment with us. He and His words are "spirit and life" for every instant (John 6:63).
How does this affect real life? I will have to blog more than I comfortable with to explain all the ways, but for now how about this? You cannot make a wrong decision if you make it with Him. Have you ever worried about making the wrong decision? If you are in the moment with Jesus, you cannot make a wrong decision. This is what the writer of Proverbs was getting at in the Old Testament when he said,
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."
In the New Testament, Gospel of John, Jesus is:
The Divine Word (John 1:1, 14), Life and Light (John 1:4), The Way, Truth, and Life (John 14:6).
So, when we choose to believe in Jesus and receive Him into our lives (John 1:12), He comes into our 'here and now'. To the extent that we break free from the stranglehold of ideas that naturally push Jesus out of our real-time thought processes, we make right, good, blessed decisions that without fail result in personal peace and the propogation of light-filled love. So, with Jesus, life simply works because He is life (John 1:4). Without Jesus, we accumulate regrets or worse, we sear our conscience and lose feeling at our deepest level... the soul.
So, God wants to be with us, with you. The question is, "Do we want to be with God?" If so, tell Him. Invite Jesus into your life...your real, everyday, moment by moment life.
