Carrying the presence of God
I was absolutely fascinated when one of my friends told me about Saint Ignatius of Antioch. He was one of the early Christian saints and was a bishop of Antioch. What I found interesting was that people often called him Theophorus which means “the God Bearing”. This man was so full of God that everywhere he went people recognised God´s presence within him. Isn´t it wonderful? He simply changed the atmosphere at the places where he showed up. He not only spoke about God but he brought God with him everywhere!
What about me?
Let´s be honest. Can I say the same thing about myself? Do people recognise God´s presence when I am around? That is a good question. For those who answer yes, I am cheering you on! For those who are not so sure, don´t worry. We are in this together. Ask Saint Ignatius for help and let´s have a look on some practical ideas which we can start with. There are four simple questions: Where? When? How? and Why? that can be really helpful if we intentionaly seek to carry God´s presence in our everyday lives.
Where?
Since it is much easier for us to talk about God among our Christian friends or in our prayer groups we tend to keep silence everywhere else. In our workplace, in school, with non-believing friends, etc. As if the fact that I belong to Christ made no difference. By keeping silence, I mean not only speaking about God with our words but speaking about Him with our actions as well. All the people we meet during the day are hungry for love. God is love. To be Theophorus is to love. A simple act of love and kindness can literally surprise many people who have not seen kindness for a long time. It has the power to change the atmosphere. We never know what is their story. There are people out there who only need to be listened to or noticed. Let us not restrict these little acts of love only on people whom we know it would be safe with. Let us carry God´s presence not only to our church or prayer group but everywhere we go no matter what people we may encounter, whether believers or non-believers.
When?
I would give you a different question: is there an inappropriate moment to love? God called us to love. He didn´t say: Love each other only in the summer or Love others only during your good days. No. He said: ´Love one another´ (Jn 13:34). There is no time specified. There are no limits of time when to love or not to love people. There are also no limits of when to bring or not to bring the presence of God to all those around me. Certainly, there are moments when we are discouraged by the circumstances that we face or we feel too tired and exhausted to be an encouragement for those around us. If this is what you have experienced lately, do not give up! God can do wonders through our weaknesses.
How?
Creativity has no boundaries. There are numerous ways whether subtle or great one can bring God and His love to others. I encourage you to start with those simple things. Smile at strangers (it is so beautiful to see them smiling back), start a conversation with your neighbour to whom you rarely speak, leave a handwritten note to your roommate, call your parents and tell them you love them, or simply spend time with people. Time is so precious that we often keep it to ourselves. Perhaps we make some people feel immesurably loved only by spending time with them. You never know. But I am sure that we should never stop giving our time to others in the simplicity of everyday life. And please, be creative, find new ways to bring Christ to those who need Him most. There are no limits.
Why?
This answer is the easiest one. Because. Because God wants it. He wants to touch the hearts of people and He wants to be known. The greatest way to make Him known is to love.
´By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.´ (Jn 13:35)
Also Saint Paul reminds us:
´Live as children of light – for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord´ (Eph 5:8-10).
Go for it!
Can you imagine how beautiful the world would be if only we were fully willing to live the life to which we have been called to? We all have been called to love. We all have been called to be the God-bearing. Allow the Holy Spirit to transform your everyday life by accepting His invitation to make you the ´fragrance of Christ´ (2 Cor 2:15). Do not give up! By His grace we can spread the love of Christ, we can change the atmosphere wherewer we go. By His grace we can be the Theophorus: God Bearing.