September 10, 2008

 

Longing for Sunday

 

            It is Wednesday, and already I am longing for Sunday. That is the day my husband returns from his current trip. He left only today, but I miss him already. My teenage son has a curfew on his phone. It goes off at 10:00, and may come back on at 7:00 (for one hour, until 8:00, when school starts). Some days he longs for 7:00 to arrive, so he can resume his texting. That is what a close relationship does. That is what intimacy does. That is what passion does. It longs for contact, communication, interaction, and presence. Many times it is this longing that keeps us going.

             Longing for family leads us to all those family reunions, half way across the country, with the kids and dog in the back seat of the station wagon, or should I say mini-van. It is the longing for conversation and connectedness that causes us to take a different way home from work or the grocery store, so we can stop by our best friend’s house for a visit, or meet for lunch in the middle of our busy day. 

            We long for the connection to the ones we are close to and hold dear. The apostle Paul speaks of longing to see fellow Christians, brothers and sisters in the Lord. (Philippians 1:8). He speaks of Christian congregations longing for the success and growth of other congregations (2 Corinthians 9:14).

             Since we are made in our God’s image, and we have those longings, I am quite convinced that God has those same longings to be with and commune with and be intimately engaged with us (Luke 13:34). You see, God Himself, the Creator and Lover of our souls, longs for us, too. He longs for acknowledgement of His hand and blessing in our daily lives. He longs for our attention and conversation. He longs for us to give Him the place He created for Himself within us. He longs for us to open wide our hearts, minds, and lives to the One who gave those to us. He longs for us to be with Him- to abide in Him, to have our very life and being within Him. He longs for us.

             How many times do we rush through our lives, doing our own thing, only to come to the weekend, and remember our duty (or even desire) to attend church and think about our God on Sunday? We look forward to singing spiritual songs, reading Scriptures and hearing the preacher’s message. However, the wonderful thing about being in a relationship with the Lord, and acknowledging Him in our lives, is that we do not have to wait until Sunday to sing spiritual songs, read Scripture or pray. We don’t have to be in the church building to visit with the Lord or commune with Him. We have the ability to talk with and hear from our God at any moment and location. The key is to realize this and take advantage of this reality in our lives.

             God longs for us to live in His presence and dwell with Him continually and forever, not just on Sundays. Now is the appointed time, not just some specially designated day or commonly used day designated for worship. We are told to pray without ceasing, to have His praise continually on our lips, and to bless the Lord at all times. God rewards those like David, who longs for God and His nearness and continual presence and power in his life. God is longing for our word, our touch, our attention and fellowship. He is longing for us.  God is longing for Sunday, too. Or perhaps He is longing for us to realize that (unlike me and my 4-day wait) every day for us, with the Lord, can be a Sunday.