God In Our Midst

When my father died, I could not comprehend never again. Never again would I hear his voice, laughter, stories. Never again would I see his particular head with the sparsely distributed hair or those piercing eyes, seen through thick glasses. Without conscious awareness, my ears listened for him and in surprise my eyes would periodically land, heart racing, on a lookalike. Disheartened again and again, I would recall my fathers gone ness, his no longer existence in this world. I realize this is a strange way to express death and yet does it not describe perfectly, how we experience this odd loss? Someone is and than they are not? Six years after his death, I gave up waiting to hear the sound of the garage door going up, marking his return at the end of a work day. He was gone, never to return. Memories of my father have faded as they are want to do and this leads me to my topic, of God in our  midst. The crucifixion of Jesus was a public event with hundreds of witnesses. The moment He gave up His spirit, His body let go of breathe, of life. He hung motionless and had to be taken down off of the cross His hands and feet had been nailed to. Taken down, this is what death looks like, feels like. A hopeless helpless nothing can be done about it oddity. A never again. Staying with this feeling of never again is devastating in its uselessness. To live and die does not satisfy the soul, there is a thrist and hunger for more of the life part, isn't there Dear Reader? Taken down into the grave is an anticlimax, a disappointment and a ruse. Jesus did die on a cross and He went somewhere but it was not into a grave or even a cave, that is how we humans see the end. His body was placed and while there was grieving and longing for His Presence, the finality of death seemed to speak never again, never again will you see Him, The One you are listening and searching for. Jesus died as a man with The Spirit of God Almighty within Him and no grave, no physical death could contain Him. His body did not rot as yours and mine will if buried in the ground, once the soul has detached from the body. He rose on the third day and people saw Him, touched Him, ate, laughed and talked with Him, marvelling at the reunion. It was then undeniably known Who He Is, Immanuel, God is with us. He is in our midst today Dear One. Allow your ears to listen for Him, He calls to His sheep. Allow your eyes to search the crowds, His gaze is upon you. Allow Him to pull you close, wrap you in His embrace and whisper in your ear, you are my beloved and as long as you have me, you have eternal life. Won't you trust in Him today if you have not already? God is in our midst and finding Him is easy, once your eyes have been opened to His Presence...He is everywhere.