Out of sight, out of mind

                                                                                            

Relationships. I have very few true friends. You know, people who have been in my life long enough to make that deep connection that lasts a lifetime. From childhood to even now, I moved around a lot. I can count on one hand how many friends I have kept over the decades. It is hard to ‘keep the friendship flame burning’ when you have new priorities, long distances, and uncommon interests.

We have so many modes of communication; chat, email, Facebook, Google duo, snapchat, skype and even the old fashioned ‘go to’ that I love, writing letters. I love the flow of the pen, the intimacy. Especially now, with Covid 19, if you do not keep in touch with people, in some way, relationships can ebb and flow like the waves of the ocean.

I learned at a young age that when you distance yourself from someone, out of necessity even, such as jobs, illness, or vacations and such, it is a strain on relationships. When you leave, they fill the void with other people. It can feel awkward coming back. That awkwardness can create an even larger divide. While I was gone, they replaced me with something else.   

It is the same with our relationship with Christ. When our students or staff leave program, it is always crucial to their survival to use the tools that they learned in program.  We are seemingly always in motion. We are closer or farther away from Him depending on where we are in life and what we are doing. I visualize a spectrum that goes between white and black. The closer that we are to Him, the more connected we are and the closer we are to white or His light. As we distance ourselves from Him, we move closer into shades of gray and then black or darkness.

John 8:12: Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

It is so easy to get out in the world with its busyness and forget who we are in Christ. We believe that we do all things in our own power. We want to accomplish something! We have become a very independent world. We tell ourselves we are in control and that we don’t need anyone. We reach for worldly, necessary goals like careers and cars and material things, forgetting where our real blessings come from. It becomes easier to believe in something that is visible and there rather than the power of an unseen God.

The bible talks about those who, when Moses went up in the mountains to be with God, built an idol.

Ex 32:1: When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."

We surround ourselves with people who may not agree with our faith, so we hide our light under a bushel so as not to ‘look weird’ or ‘sound insane’.

Mat 5: 14-16: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We work too hard and feel it is okay if we miss church this week, next week and then… ‘I can read the bible and still be a Christian.’ Or, eventually, I don’t need to read the bible to be a Christian, I believe in Him.

This has been said and done a million different ways. Listen, I have been guilty of it too. The one consistency, every single time that I slip into laziness, is that I feel less connected to God. I feel it physically, mentally and spiritually. The peace, joy and love that I had, that I took for granted, slowly fades away. My purpose and hope begin to dim, and I lose focus of what I am doing in this world. My spirit becomes tired and less in tune with Him. I am less able to pour into others because I am running on empty.

Remember the old song “Love is like oxygen”? Well, His love is like oxygen to those of us who believe. His love can be found in the pages of that beautiful bible; in His Words. ‘Love is like oxygen, you get to much you get to high, not enough and you’re going to die.’

We thrive on His Word. It strengthens us and keeps His purpose for our lives in focus. It keeps us in the Light. We see things through His eyes and not our own. We become discerning and wise to the schemes of this world. We are inexplicably empowered with the wisdom and love for others that we would not normally have. We may have a tendency to think it is our own gifts that get us there, but it is His blessing upon our lives for our obedience and faith that brings us so close to Him and His people. We just don’t have it in us, people! We are nothing but human too!

The reality is, when we distance our selves from our relationship with Christ, we move from light into darkness. We move outside of His blessing and covering and we expose ourselves to darkness. It is easier to be blinded by the world and its trappings. It is harder to ‘see’ in the darkness slowly surrounding us. Then, as we move away from Him and find ourselves in darkness, we distance ourselves from Him even more out of guilt or shame or gradual indifference.

It is too easy to get worldly advice for spiritual problems. It is so easy to look to other things of this world to ease our mind, soul and body. We follow false prophets and idols because they offer the easy way out. Yes, it is much easier to fall into darkness than to keep your lamp lit in a storm but that doesn’t make it wise.

We are a fickle lot. But I caution you, you must remember the face of your Father in Heaven. You must stay close and know what to look for in this dark world. You must use His word to find your way in life, not the way of this dark world. Use the ancient goodness and love found in His scripture to guide your path. He will light the lamp in your soul and fill you with the Holy Spirit who will guide you in all righteousness.

John 16: 13-15: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵ All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”