Seeing God…

(John 14:1-14) When Christ was here on Earth in and among the Disciples, man was able to see God first hand. Even then the Disciples didn’t quite get it, not really realizing that they had God among them. Today it might seem that we don’t have the benefit of seeing God as the Disciples did, however the Holy Spirit does live among us. I’m reminded of the sermon that Christ gave about the “sheep” and the “goats” as they came to heaven and Christ seperated them based on how they served and loved others. From His message we can see that day-to-day we have opportunities to show Christ to others.

God wants to use us for His work. When we are used by Him to even bless other Christians, we are seeing the qualities of God being shown to us. There are many who might say that we have it so much harder than the Disciples, because they were physically with Jesus. However, I think we have had things so much easier, and we haven’t had the sort of resistance and persecution that the Disciples had. For most Christians in the Western world today, we have lived in a culture that has allowed us to be Christians. There are those countries where Christianity is still outlawed, and I feel they probably have a greater faith in God than most Western believers. I’m not seeking persecution, merely a desire to put complete faith in my God who loves me and promises to take complete care of me. If persecution produces a deeper faith than that is what I would desire, a deeper faith by whatever means God would provide.

As the years go by, and Christ’s return draws near, it would seem that there will be a time when even in the Western world Christianity will be persecuted against. This is even written in Revelation. The time will come for us to either stand against the Anti-Christ, or take on his mark and turn our back on our faith. I would pray that Christians will rely on a faithful God to bring them out of that time.