How do we know about God? We have general and special revelation. We have the Bible, and others who told us about him. The natural consequence of turning from God is not knowing him. Athanasius says, "In a word, impiety and lawlessness were everywhere, and neither God nor His Word was known." How sad and hopeless would life be if things were left this way! But God, in his grace and mercy, created us as image bearers despite our turning from him.
Living as if God were present sounds simple enough, but is it really? When I consider every part of my life it is plain to see that it isn't! I sin, fail and knowingly hurt God. That isn't living like the almighty, all powerful God is with me. Christians want to give themselves wholly to God and God wants this too. It will be a struggle, but a worthwhile one. "Though I have done it imperfectly, I have found great advantages in this practice. I am aware, however, that all of these advantages are to be attributed to the mercy and goodness of God, because we can do nothing without him--especially me!" The reason we give ourselves to God is for God, not for ourselves. It is so that through our triumphs we can praise God. It is so that through our failures and struggles we can turn to God and ask for help and learn through them, being thankful even for that. What if it were our natural instinct to do what God wants? By making a habit of living as if God were present we can begin to do that. Brother Lawrence calls the idea of this a holy freedom.
"This practice produced in me so high an esteem for God that faith alone was enough to satisfy all my needs." I've decided to make this my prayer. I want to be that satisfied in God. About four years ago I watched a video series by John Piper where I memorized a quote that keeps popping up in my head as I think about this. "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." Our satisfaction in God brings him glory. We need no other reason to want satisfaction in God apart from that.
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