Get Up Close
Have you ever gone to watch your favorite sports team play and discovered that your seat was so far away from the action that you couldn’t see the players well? You sit there feeling totally disconnected from the game, wishing you were at home watching it on television. Several years ago I went to a theatrical play with friends and that’s what happened to us. From where we were seated, I couldn’t see or hear the actors well, and it was so frustrating. Sharing one pair of binoculars meant I had to wait my turn to finally focus right up close and personal to the stage. With the binoculars, however, it was amazing. I could see the expressions on the actors’ faces and hear them better because I knew which actor or actress was speaking. I felt like I was a part of the story. What was once far away had been drawn close to me.
So often people feel that way about their relationship with God. They feel so far away from Him and think He doesn’t know where they are or what is going on in their lives. But I want you to know that no matter how you feel, you are up close and personal with God today. The apostle Paul says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). It’s true that you may have been far away from God in your life, but He has you in His sights. God has His binoculars focused on you, so to speak. He is in your story! He is on your stage! The distance between us has been closed through Jesus.
Unfortunately, too often we think we need to change our lives before we can draw near to God. We first need to clean up a few things. But we can’t clean up our own lives. We can’t bring the change that God wants to bring in our lives. He had to come to us through Jesus, and He has brought us salvation through Jesus’ blood. Only Jesus Christ can change your life. There’s no mess that you’ve made that He can’t help you clean up. In Jesus, you are made right with God. There’s nothing inside you that would make you distant from God. He loves you just the way you are.
Whatever you’re facing today, don’t let anything stand between you and God the Father. He wants you to know: “I’m right here, up close and personal. There’s no gap between us. Come close to Me and know that there is nothing that I can’t do for you through Christ Jesus.”
So often people feel that way about their relationship with God. They feel so far away from Him and think He doesn’t know where they are or what is going on in their lives. But I want you to know that no matter how you feel, you are up close and personal with God today. The apostle Paul says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). It’s true that you may have been far away from God in your life, but He has you in His sights. God has His binoculars focused on you, so to speak. He is in your story! He is on your stage! The distance between us has been closed through Jesus.
Unfortunately, too often we think we need to change our lives before we can draw near to God. We first need to clean up a few things. But we can’t clean up our own lives. We can’t bring the change that God wants to bring in our lives. He had to come to us through Jesus, and He has brought us salvation through Jesus’ blood. Only Jesus Christ can change your life. There’s no mess that you’ve made that He can’t help you clean up. In Jesus, you are made right with God. There’s nothing inside you that would make you distant from God. He loves you just the way you are.
Whatever you’re facing today, don’t let anything stand between you and God the Father. He wants you to know: “I’m right here, up close and personal. There’s no gap between us. Come close to Me and know that there is nothing that I can’t do for you through Christ Jesus.”