When Our Presence is the Best We Can Bring
More than what we do, our presence is often the best we can offer people.
Tom Anderson
8/22/20262 min read
Elise drove her first car for a year, always listening to the tape player. She wished she could listen to a CD, but the dash did not have a slot for CDs. She would even go to the trouble of recording her CDs to tape cassettes for use in the car. She was giving someone a lift one day and they noticed a box under the passenger’s seat. “What’s this?” They asked. It was a six-stack CD player!
I wonder if you’ve ever lived unaware of a great asset you’ve always had at your disposal but have never been aware of?
I think this is common for us as Christians. We go about busily trying to serve God in different ways, hoping to have an impact for God’s Kingdom. Yet, our greatest asset, the greatest gift we can give people, often goes under-utilised.
That gift is our simple presence. Or more accurately, the presence of the Holy Spirit we carry within us.
I noticed a stranger walking past me last Tuesday and I said to the person next to me, “I think he’s a Christian. Let me go check.” There was something about his peaceful and alert demeanour that stood out. Sure enough, he was, and was looking for the same meeting we were.
People recognise the Holy Spirit within us and this is especially the case the more we spend time attentive to His presence.
So my encouragement to you is to practise noticing the Holy Spirit’s presence with you and in turn be a joyful, peace-filled loving presence with the people around you. Speak and act out of this presence. Allow it to flow out naturally as the Spirit leads.
Let’s remember this on Sunday too, at the Fun Day. While we offer fun activities and do our best to create an environment the community can enjoy, this is only an outward opportunity for something more important to take place. That is, the chance for close, Holy Spirit inspired interactions: a chance for our community to encounter Jesus, in us.
Let’s remember Jesus’s words to Martha when she complains about Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42
Let’s not get so caught up in the doing that we forget the greatest blessing is our presence. Let discipleship be an unhurried relationship more than a task to tick off.
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Vision Christian Family is a non-profit Christian church serving the Ipswich community since 1975.
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