The Power of Presence
The Power of Presence… I’m not sure the quote originated with Woody Allen, but I have heard him credited with saying “85% of life is just showing up.” I am also not sure that there is any data to back up his notion, but the statement does ring true. There is something to be said for consistently being present for life. Cal Ripken Jr. earned the nickname of “ironman” for making 2,632 consecutive starts in baseball. We ought not underestimate the value of just showing up and being present for life. One of the very best promises we find on the pages of the Bible highlights this principle. In the section of Matthew’s gospel called The Great Commission, Jesus tells us that we can count on him being present. If you are not familiar with this passage, it is recorded as one of Jesus’ post-resurrection encounters with his followers. Evidently Jesus had given them a specific location to go and wait for him to arrive. When he does show up he tells them that all the authority on the planet and off the planet has been given to him. He then tells them to go and make other followers by baptizing them and teaching them all of the commands he had shared with the original 12. The amazing promise comes on the heels of these instructions: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The maker of all we can see, the visible image of the invisible God, the one who is supreme over all and holds all creation together is with us. If you make the choice to follow Jesus, he is closer to you than you can even imagine. His string of consecutive starts is incalculable, beginning in eternity past and playing forward in a world without end. While this knowledge is of supreme value, the greatness of this fact is realized in the experience. He is with us in both the peaks and valleys. He makes the peaks more beautiful and the valleys bearable. All of us, hopefully, have had the experience of a friend or loved one “being there” for us. Perhaps we have shown up for another. All of us recognize the importance of being present, of showing up. All of us recognize the devastating effects when people fail to show up for life or in the lives of others. With Jesus we have the promise of him being with us always. Always! On our good days and bad ones. At the times when we behave admirably and the times when we pray no one witnessed our conduct. Jesus is present for us and in us, if we choose. He also empowers us to be present and show up in the lives of others. Even nature provides excellent examples of this principle. Below is a link to an amazing video about wolves being reintroduced at Yellowstone National Park. I will not play spoiler by saying too much, but take a look at what happens when the wolves show up at the park. Notice the ripple effect of their influence simply by being present.
Blessings,
Marty Hale
Thanks for visiting www.martyhale.org!
Comments are closed.
[…] is not just that they enjoyed having him around, they had come to depend upon his presence in their life. The ending of the story the disciples had in mind was different than the plot Jesus […]
Every Life that’s created has purpose and should be valued loved and appreciated…
The Purpose of our Creator and Creation was and still is, to Give Life…and with every Life that is created…it is given the Purpose to Live…to bring life and value to our lives, to Love and be Loved, to appreciate and be appreciated… Since the beginning of time we have misunderstood our Purpose and the Purpose of Life, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to give thought or judgement to what should be Valued or given Value, over time it has been misconstrued. -Value was not meant to be used as a weight or judgment, or to give something importance over another… To Value is to treasure and love…Everything that has been given Life should equally appreciated no matter what it provides…Every plant has been created, to live and to give, some give food, some give attraction, some give resistance, some give healing, they all have A purpose for its existence, not one plant is more important than another, they all provide something important to Life. Each one should be valued and appreciated equally, to be cared for and valued the same.The same can be said for every animal and insect that lives on land, or the sky, every animal in the sea. They provide balance and give something equally important to Life, they should be appreciated, cared for, valued, and loved, equally…The same can be said for every Human Being, their purpose in life is to appreciate, care for, value, and love, every Life that is created. Every humans purpose in Life is to Love and Appreciate the one who created us, and everything He has created.
It is not, nor has it ever been our place to, to place the importance of any object or life above that of another. Because of this misconception the existence of Evil was created, it also has a purpose in life, to distract us from living our lives with Purpose the purpose to love and appreciate our Creator and Life. My example of these distractions are the Values we’ve placed on Images, Ideas, and Objects, or how we practice Faith, giving these things more importance over the Life of our “neighbor.” For centuries man has tried to acquire, favoritism from God and superiority over others when thought this was achieved. It’s created Destruction, Enslavement, Rejection, and Fear, we’ve killed and caused harm to each other, because we have followed these ideas and have placed value on rocks, oil, and things, we have put value on ideas of how to practice a faith, and images to be successful and happy, we must acquire material things, these values on these objects, ideas and images has destroyed our appreciation in Life, it’s placed judgement in our hearts, acceptance that someone should have to go without because we cannot acquire superiority and respect, if we provide them help. We do not need to struggle in Life, We need to learn to Love and Appreciate all of these things and each other equally. No Life in this World should be shoved aside or forgotten, hungry, thirsty, left without shelter, warmth clothing, or love.
It is not our place to judge others for what they have done. If someone has harmed us we must learn to forgive so that we may all move on. It’s time stop seeking punishment and justice of each other, it will all be given, when it’s time to face Our Father. It’s time to stop holding on to regrets, it’s time to start Living, Loving, Appreciating the Life that’s Created. It’s time for a us to reevaluate our lives, our talents, our gifts, what we have to give, it’s time to stop giving power to oppression and value to paper, it’s time to stop giving our value to ideas, and give it to each other. It’s time to acquire what’s been taken from us. Appreciation and Love for God and his creation.