Scripture
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy. Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9

Observation
Why does God choose to be invisible? For 33 years we could see him, hear him, touch him. Now he relates to us by Spirit. There are times that can be frustrating. There are times we might like to pray, “God you are invisible but I am not!”

But like all things the Lord does there are reasons. For the moment he wants to build a relationship with us based on presence. Presence is far more than just being in the room, but it is the sense that someone is in the room. For those who are married, there is a clear sense when the loved one is nearby. Without a sound we know that another is with us because we sense their nearness.

The goal of our relationship with the Lord is to come to know his presence well and to fall in love with it. When that is secure, then we will be allowed to see his face. Peter wrote about what we should all be aiming for in our relationship with Jesus. Our aim is to love him without seeing him, to trust him without seeing him and to be happy just to sense him near.

My son has a black dog named Memphis. Part Boarder Collie and part German shepherd, his panting presence is familiar on the construction site where Jon works. Memphis is a work dog and all day long he spends with his master. His love of Jon is so great that he will pick through the clothes hamper and pull out old socks and shirts that are infused with his master’s scent and sleep on them.

There should be something of that loyalty of presence in all of us. Just having a sense of his presence is all that we need. That is what deepens our love for Christ beyond words. When we become comfortable with the invisible God and we come to enjoy his presence alone there is something that moves deeply in the heart of Jesus. To those who live for his presence there is a reward. He steps into save us. He is a faithful God and he enjoys the company of faithful ones.

Application
There is a choice that I make that can move reality from “God exists” to “God is present” just by becoming cognizant of the presence of Jesus. I choose that today.

Prayer
Father, I want to live in your presence not because you become somehow more present but because I choose to acknowledge that you are. I know you are present. You are with me now. I am not alone. Amen.