Experiencing Unseen Assurance

The verse under the title of this blog is one of my favorites. I thought it was a particularly appropriate verse to put there because *hopefully* it is a reminder that these are thoughts and meditations of a girl who is in process, not one who is under some crazy assumption that she has arrived. Every time I sit down at this computer to write a post I am simply putting words and stories to the truths that I am learning in that particular moment.

That said, I absolutely love to hear the feedback and insight of others in relation to my reflections. Its like a big group quiet time where we can refine each others' thinking and encourage each other toward Christ. Yesterday I got a message from a friend who had a challenging question regarding yesterday's post. I was so excited! I need people like him (yes, it is a him, and he is aware that this is The Hill for Girls. . . ) in my life to keep me from running so far with my reflections that I veer away from truth. Anyway, I was excited to hear his feedback and I want to share his question and my subsequent reflections with you all this morning. . . Here we go!

Question:
Is it really true that we can't hug Jesus this side of eternity? . . . Jesus hugs me everyday in the form of my wife, kids, friends, etc. After all, Paul names us "the body of Christ," right? That's pretty tangible and concrete language both for kids and for grownups!

Awesome point, my friend!

Answer:
(In my humble and not infallible opinion) Yes and no. In one sense my original statement is true because Jesus is no longer here in His physical form. In the book of John Jesus talks a lot about his leaving; trying to prepare his disciples for the ministry to come once he left. In John 13 Jesus says, "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going you cannot come. . . you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."

Physically, Jesus is not with us anymore. I long for the day that I will see Him face to face. . . Hebrews 11 says, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." So there is an element of 'unseeing' in the Christian life. We cannot see Christ in His tangible, physical form, and yet we can be certain that He is real and that His love is steadfast.

In another sense my friend is absolutely right. We experience Christ through our relationships with others here on earth. The body of Christ is the incarnation of Christ here and now. In Matthew 26 it says, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." When we love and serve each other we are loving and serving Christ.

I long for the day when I will see Christ, but I rejoice in the here and now because I experience Christ over and over all day long! I might not see Him, but His presence is felt in so many different ways.

The real point I was trying to make yesterday is that even though we cannot physically see Jesus, we can learn to "hear" His voice and "feel" His love. I believe that one of the ways God most often accomplishes that is through other people (like our spouses, kids, friends, etc). There is a very good reason that God put us in relationships with others - we are not meant to experience the Christian life alone. Our faith is best experienced and lived out in the context of community. We are Jesus for each other, and we wait for Jesus with each other.

So yes, we can hug Jesus today! And no, we won't hug Him until He returns in glory to bring us home!

Ok - I've shared my perspective, now it is your turn. What do you think??