A Desire to Be with the Father
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
1 Corinthians 13:11–13
The first railroads represented an amazing increase in the speed of travel compared to what had come before, but they were still very slow by modern standards. And passenger comfort was limited by the noise, the smoke, and the very uneven ride of early trains. I read about a little boy who was making a lengthy trip on a train by himself. At one point, a lady who had been watching him asked if he was getting tired after so long a trip. He quickly replied that he wasn’t tired. “I’m going to see my father as soon as we arrive,” he explained.
If our focus is on God as much as it should be, our greatest longing will be to be in His presence. While we know that we have the certainty of spending eternity with Him through the salvation provided by grace through faith, His presence is not just something we will experience in the future. Certainly our fellowship with God will be on a much different level in Heaven, but for those who seek His face, His presence can be experienced and enjoyed here on earth. David wrote, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11). There is no such thing as a powerful, victorious Christian life apart from the abiding presence of God.
1 Corinthians 13:11–13
The first railroads represented an amazing increase in the speed of travel compared to what had come before, but they were still very slow by modern standards. And passenger comfort was limited by the noise, the smoke, and the very uneven ride of early trains. I read about a little boy who was making a lengthy trip on a train by himself. At one point, a lady who had been watching him asked if he was getting tired after so long a trip. He quickly replied that he wasn’t tired. “I’m going to see my father as soon as we arrive,” he explained.
If our focus is on God as much as it should be, our greatest longing will be to be in His presence. While we know that we have the certainty of spending eternity with Him through the salvation provided by grace through faith, His presence is not just something we will experience in the future. Certainly our fellowship with God will be on a much different level in Heaven, but for those who seek His face, His presence can be experienced and enjoyed here on earth. David wrote, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11). There is no such thing as a powerful, victorious Christian life apart from the abiding presence of God.
Today’s Growth Principle:
If our hearts do not long for a real sense of God’s presence, it is a sign that something is wrong in our lives.
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