Be Present

Presence is an ever-fleeting piece of today's society; but without it, society is mislabeled.

Think about it. To have society, there must be community and relationship. Society is not dependent on one, or even two, individuals. Rather, society deals with a great number of individuals who use their individuality to better the society. And in our era of phones, Internet, and video games (among other things), our attention spans are diminishing, along with our humility.

While I use my iPod for many different activities, I do my best to avoid its use with friends. Same goes for my phone, although it doesn't have many capabilities anyways. The idea behind my decision is not that somehow I'll be a better person, but that I'll be able to build actual relationships. 

One of the most irking things to me is talking to someone who is one their phone. Their attentions are divided, and while they say they can multi-task, they are not engaged with me. I confess, I do the same around my house. My parents can be frustrated with me sometimes! It's a disease that has slowly crept into all of our lives.

This isn't just limited to technology. Think of your past conversations, and how you weren't engaged or present with the person you were talking to. How many times have they mentioned something that made you think of an idea so amazing that you find the next nearest breath to interject your own thought? And all the while you were searching for that opening in the conversation, you weren't listening. You were hearing. It happens to me all the time, because my pride demands that I say whatever will make me look smarter, better, or more informed than the one I'm talking to. 

How ridiculous! That we value our own self-image over a relationship with a fellow human being; that we expect others to truly listen to us as we disregard their own thoughts, ideas, and experiences!

See, while we were physically there with another human, we weren't present. Our minds drifted. God gave us a creative spirit for a very good purpose, but please don't let it create while another is sharing with you. Instead of hearing, listen. Understand. Acknowledge. And, rather than throw your own magnificent ideas into the conversation, and change its course, further the path the conversation was already headed down. 

Finally, we tend to do the same with Jesus. We'll pour out our hearts to Him, tell Him about our days, and walk away. And frankly, that's better than most of the Christian community. 

But to be honest, we aren't present with God either. We live in an 'under' relationship usually; we follow the rules because we've replaced relationship with rules. We talk to Jesus to check it off a list. And we don't listen, or even just sit and ponder His glory.

But living under God isn't what we are called to. That's the pledge of allegiance. So some will take it a step further, and live in a 'for' relationship with their Maker. They live for God. They do everything for God; they plant churches, share Jesus at their workplace, whatever the preacher says to. And while they have good intentions, it can be easy to lose yourself in the works that you do rather than the God who calls you.

What we need is a 'with' relationship. And looking at my life, I've walked from that. I've made serving God more important than Himself. I need presence; I need to dwell on Him consistently. To recognize who He is, what He's done, and what He is like with every breath and then react in an act of worship. And since worship is anything that glorifies God, that covers a lot of things: painting to biking, washing the dishes to roofing a house, encouraging a friend to comforting one that grieves.

"This is how we know we are in Him: the one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked." - 1 John 2:5b-6 (HCSB)

To be present with God is everything. To not just spend time with Him, but to live life in His presence. And the more time we spend with Jesus, the more (as this verse tells us) we begin to walk like Him. Therefore, in order to #LiveItLikeJesus, we first must spend time with Him.