27to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27 (NASB95)
10If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Romans 8:10 (NASB95)
5Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NASB95)
Unlike the days of the Old Testament where man came into the presence of God, as Moses on the mountain, or the High Priest in the Holy of Holies, disciples of Jesus do not seek out the presence of God. At times we speak of a religious experience this way. We talk about coming into the presence of God. We might even sing a song that offers God an invitation like, “Holy Spirit you are welcome here[i].” While I get the sentiment and I am by no means seeking to start a keyboard war, for believers, we do not invite God to join us. Christ is in us! Consider for a moment the implications of such truth. There is nowhere you can go that you avoid the presence of Christ. There is no difficulty you can face alone. There is no situation where you are overwhelmed by a superior foe. The omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent God who created you, now inhabits you.
This truth also means that there are times, to our shame, when we take Christ to places we would not invite our mothers. Many of us would be quite embarrassed if mom was in the parking lot of a busy retail outlet when someone took the parking space we wanted. Many of us would hang our heads if mom was sitting beside us as we explained to the nice police officer why we were driving so fast. More than a few would be ashamed if mom were looking over our shoulders as we absorbed content from our computer screens. Yet, Christ, the King of Glory, is right there, within us, listening, and watching.
Today, ask the Lord to make you more aware of His presence. Ask him to make you more appropriate in your response to His presence. Invite Him to make Himself known to you. Before you bless out that driver in the parking lot, turn to the empty passenger seat and say, “Hey Jesus. Hold my sweet tea and watch this.” If you would not do it or say it with mama watching, maybe you should skip it altogether as an appropriate expression of reverent worship of the King.
[i] “Holy Spirit,” by Jesus Culture, 2012. https://youtu.be/qNwnOfZ5N8A?si=7hazoWZOWWAiJ3yA
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