Never Alone - Part 6

I have begun reading the second part of Never Alone, the updated version of Brother Lawrence's classic Practice of the Presence of God by Tim Green of Travecca Nazarene University.

As the preface to Never Alone states, "The second part contains letters that Brother Lawrence himself wrote to a dear friend." The first letter, entitled "Coming to Our Senses--Living in God's Presence," is the subject of the blog today.

Three things jump out at me from this letter. The first is this statement: "He [a friend of Brother Lawrence] no longer has to worry or become frustrated over finding something that he doesn't already have. It's always right in front of him, ready for him to access at any moment." Brother Lawrence is describing his friends quest for God's peace. So often we want what we cannot have, or we don't know where to find what we want. I think people, even in our day, want peace the most. I am not talking about the absence of war, but rather internal peace. People try to find it everywhere from careers to sex to drugs to education to sports to possessions. We try to find it everywhere. The only place real peace is found is in God. When we live in God's presence, we need not search for peace anywhere else.

Another phrase that jumped at me was this one: "Days and weeks and months pass by so quickly. All of a sudden a year has gone by, and we hardly realize it. Each one of us has to take responsibility for our own response to God." The Apostle Paul said, "now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). We cannot put it off. Time flies. It is hard to believe that this year is a month and a half old already. I remember as a kid thinking high school was so distant; that I would never get there. Now I look back and ask, "Where did the time go?" There is no excuse to put off a relationship with God. Time passes before we realize it.

The third thing that struck me was not so much a new thing as it was confirmation of what I had long believed and taught. Brother Lawrence writes, "In our journey with God there's no such thing as standing still; either we're moving ahead or we're going backwards." Our relationship with God is never static. It is always dynamic. There may be times of increased activity. There may be times when our relationship is changing at a faster rate than others. There may be times we grow faster. That all said, we are never still. "Which way am I heading?" That is a question that we must frequently ask ourselves.

I am certainly enjoying my slow trek through this slim volume. Too often I rush through books.