Longing for the Presence of Christ

After more than a year we are wrapping up our slow walk through the Gospel of Mark. Mark wrote a faithful account of the coming of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God among men. It wasn’t just a flash in a pan. It wasn’t a lightning bolt of glory….here for a moment and gone. But the good news, the gospel, is that God came to man in the person of Jesus to do a lasting work… that we MIGHT BE WITH HIM.

But here we are. On earth and him in heaven again. He has left his Spirit with us and in us, closer than ever before; reviving us, guiding us, teaching us, comforting us (John 14:17).

But are we done with Jesus now that we have the Spirit of God? In Philippians 1:23-24 Paul writes that, though indwelled with the Spirit and even possessing Apostolic powers for miracles, he desired to be with Jesus: "For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you." The Apostle John, having also the Spirit, was overcome with wonder and fear when he was given a vision of the risen Christ (Revelation 1).

One thing, maybe the main thing, the Spirit does is points us to Jesus (John 15:26). So as a church, as believers, we should be filled with a godly desire and longing to see our Savior, to be with him, in his presence experiencing his full glory that we currently see as through a dim glass. This desire to be with Jesus reminds us that we are strangers and pilgrims in this place looking for his return. This desire typifies real believers in Jesus.

Is it daily, moment by moment, on your heart and mind to be with Jesus and see him yourself upon whom you have believed without seeing?
Is it a constant desire of your heart stronger than all other desires?

Let this centuries-old poem by William Cowper stir your desire to be with Jesus today. Consider, also, that you might write your own poem and share it with a new generation.

Longing to Be With Christ
by William Cowper

To Jesus, the crown of my hope,

My soul is in haste to be gone;

O bear me, ye cherubim, up,

And waft me away to His throne!

My Saviour, whom absent I love,

Whom, not having seen I adore;

Whose name is exalted above

All glory, dominion, and power;

Dissolve thou these bonds that detain

My soul from her portion in thee.

Ah! strike off this adamant chain,

And make me eternally free.

When that happy era begins,

When arrayed in Thy glories I shine,

Nor grieve any more, by my sins,

The bosom on which I recline.

Oh then shall the veil be removed,

And round me They brightness be pour’d,

I shall meet Him whom absent I loved,
Shall see Him whom unseen adored.

And then, never more shall the fears,

The trials, temptations, and woes,

Which darken this valley of tears,

Intrude on my blissful repose.

Or, if yet remember’d above,

Remembrance no sadness shall raise,

They will be but new signs of Thy love,

New themes for my wonder and praise.

Thus the strokes which from sin and from pain

Shall set me eternally free,

Will strengthen and rivet the chain

Which binds me, my Saviour, to Thee.