Since posting Graham Cooke’s words a few weeks ago about seeing God as our habitation, I’ve been thinking a lot about the progression of how that came to be in my own life. Three words have risen in my meditation on that, which I first shared in Greenville, SC, a few weeks ago. They have been growing in my heart ever since, especially the last one. They are providing a valuable focus in my daily life, and I find myself grateful this Thanksgiving season for all three of these.
Affection: Talking about God’s love is easy on the tongue, even for those who think they have to earn it by their good behavior. That’s why I like the word affection better to speak of what is in God’s heart for us. For some, love is a commitment, often bereft of feeling. But affection occupies a tender place in the heart that speaks of delight and desire. Paul writes that our engagement with him is like a young child crying out, “Abba.” he’s talking about that kind of affection a young child has for its parent. Scripture also talks about the deep affection a groom and a bride share. Ask God to reveal his affection for you so that you, too, can know how deeply loved you are by God.
Presence: God-with-me is not just a theological fact, he also wants it to be a discernible reality. Often during the day, I pause long enough to surrender my heart to that reality. I don’t control when or how he makes himself known to me, but I am constantly cultivating an awareness of presence and watching for his fingerprints. That awareness can come with waves of delight or the simple tenderness of knowing I’m not alone. I enjoy touching a presence greater than myself and surrendering to his desires. Often it comes with a word of affirmation, insight into something going on in my life, or fresh courage to stay the course. I find that connection more precious than anything I might want him to do for me.
Fullness: It’s easy to look for fullness outside of Jesus-in-us. Most of my life, I’ve looked for it to come from my circumstances—health, friendships, provision, and pleasure. But affection and presence have changed that for me. This is the life of abundance he promised, the fullness of joy, and the peace that makes no sense to the rational mind. I notice a marked difference in my life when I am living for fullness, seeking things to make me joyful or safe, and living from fullness because I’ve found my joy and safety in him. When I need any circumstance to come out a certain way for me to be content, I know I’m seeking fullness outside of him. But when he fills me up, it doesn’t matter what else is going on around me and I can live with others in mind.
Without these, it is easy for any of us o settle for a Christian life that is made up of beliefs, programs, and ethics, instead of a real and holy connection to the transcendent God. His desire is to live in us and to interact with us as we navigate life.
Cultivating an awareness for his affection, an attraction to his presence in us, and a appreciation of his fullnesss allows us to live in “the glorious riches of this mystery—Christ in you, the hope of glory Colossians 1:27.
