Bearing the Nearness of Jesus

Revelation 1:17

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

When John saw the glorified Christ, he fell at the feet of Our Lord.  Joshua, Daniel and Paul were all similarly affected.  The reason for such a reaction is the impact of sinfulness coming into the presence of sinlessness.  As we draw in close to the Lord, His light reveals every iniquity in us and His fire begins to burn away that which offends Him.  As we draw even closer, the purification process becomes even more intense.

The Lord will test us to see how difficult a journey we are willing to take to be close to Him.  He will send people into our lives who will be challenges for us.  He will ask us to serve them through the most menial and commonplace order.  He will ask us to wash their feet.

Through it all, His divine presence will be with us.  As we give up ourselves wholly to Him, we will receive His light in our lives.  Our light should then shine forth among all men and women as we engage them in our lives.  In the process, God will receive the glory.

May we listen to His voice and receive His perfect love.  May we submit fully to His rule and reign in our lives, so that we will be able to bear His nearness.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gift of Your presence in our lives.  We praise the name of Jesus who has made it possible for us to stand before You.  We ask forgiveness for all the things in our lives that have offended you.  We pray that the Light of Your Son will reveal the darkness in our lives.  We ask for the grace to be able to surrender to the good work that You are doing in us to prepare us to carry Your light to the world around us.  We ask all these things in the name of the spotless Lamb, Jesus Christ.