Jesus In The Midst

¨For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.¨  Matthew 18:20

In Matthew 18 verses 15 to 20, Jesus instructs His Disciples.  As we read His words we are included in the company of those He reaches.  We should take note as if we were sitting there personally and eagerly listening to His voice and gazing upon His face.  We should humble ourselves; open our hearts wide to the Holy Spirit and strain to hear His whispered instruction.

Our savior was directing His followers on how to deal with problems that arise within the fold.  First He shows us that discretion is advised and we should always approach a stumbling brother with compassion and brotherly love.  Our obligation is always to the Lord and so should the direction of our gaze be.  If we can demonstrate this to our friend who has tripped up, then when he accepts our helping hand, we have won him closer to Christ.

Jesus goes on to lay out further steps in case the brother does not respond to a genuine display of our love for him and our encouragement in returning his gaze towards God.  In this way, if any person remains stubbornly bent on their right to choose something other than to draw nearer to Jesus, they may not truly belong to the flock of our Lord.

In verses 18 and 19 Jesus shows us how concerned His Father in Heaven is with us and how involved He is in all of our daily affairs.  To the person who is fully turned to God and to the seeking of the will of the Father, heaven is working personally with that individual.  And when two or more of us find something that we feel should be brought before the almighty council, then the Father will be pleased to grant all kinds of blessings as He sees us joining together our efforts to glorify His name.

This is wonderful instruction indeed and to a thirsting soul there is much to draw from here to pull us closer to the heart of our heavenly Father.  But the best is still to come.

In verse 20 Jesus states flatly, that where more than one seeker after God unite their prayers and are pulled together in their attempt to lift up the Son, than His presence is assured in their midst!

If you have ever been in the presence of a very powerful public figure or extremely famous person, you probably can remember feeling the importance of that moment in some way or another.  It is quite possible that you were elated in some sense.  This is a natural reaction for us common folk and perhaps a quality we possess that should never be lost.

However, when we humans can be swept over with sensations when having been in the presence of another human being, how much more should we be effected by the thought of actually standing in the presence of God.  What news to consider, that Jesus could be here in our midst!  Our Jesus, our very own Savior, the One who loved us enough to leave His rightful place with the Father and subject Himself to living and dying for our sins!

If we have lost the magnitude of what it means to have our Savior right here in our midst, perhaps we should trade places with the brother mentioned in the earlier texts.  Maybe we should step into the shoes of that stumbling friend.  Perhaps we should listen as others are encouraging us to turn from our way.  Maybe someone is trying to let us know that Jesus can be here and we should be blown away that He is amongst us.

Dear Lord, thank You for using brotherly love to draw Your lost sheep back unto You.  Please let me listen to those who would try to give me that sensation of wonder and awe of Your actual presence.  Please do not let me miss anything of what I should feel nor one moment of celebrating that time with You.

Amen