Drawing Nearer to God

Scripture

James 4:1-8

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? ² You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. ⁴ Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.  ⁵ Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, “God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? ⁶ But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,

“God opposes the proud,
    but gives grace to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  (NRSV)

 

Devotion

 Earlier today, someone asked a group I was in what songs are currently laying on our hearts.  My mind immediately fixed on the version of "Nearer My God to Thee" that is sung at the end of the Netflix horror series Midnight Mass. 

 Midnight Mass has become popular among Christians who enjoy the horror genre.  It focuses on a fishing village struggling to overcome a host of fears, biases, and challenges during the season of Lent.  Most of the villagers are good people who are trying their best to live into their particular versions of faith.  The problem is that their doubts, fears, biases, and cravings lead them to make bad decisions that have horrible consequences.   As the series progresses and Easter morning approaches, characters hurt others terribly, seek forgiveness from one another, and submit themselves to God's light.  Viewers are left to reflect on our own yearning to draw nearer to the Divine as we endure times of great trial and make our own painful decisions--especially the wrong ones.

I do not think that everyone to go watch Midnight Mass.  Still, the idea of drawing near to God by searching our motives, admitting our mistakes, seeking forgiveness from one another, and humbly submitting ourselves to the Almighty warrants attention.  Most people mean well and try to do the right thing.  The problem is that our pursuit of heavenly things gets corrupted by our worldly fears and cravings.  The more we fall in love with worldly cravings and pursuits, the more we convince ourselves that we are doing what is right...even when it is clear to others that our words and actions are wrong.  We reject people should accept.  We get into conflicts with people we should work together with.  We move further and further away from the God who seeks a loving relationship with us.

How, then, do we turn around and draw near to God?  We can begin by taking a good, hard look at the things that motivate us.  Are the decisions we make and the goals we pursue truly motivated by what Scripture teaches us that God wants...or by what the world tells us to want?  Is it loving-kindness that drives us...or is it some other emotion like fear, anger, or greed? 

 It is uncomfortable to ask ourselves these kinds of questions; it is even more uncomfortable to search our souls and answer those questions honestly.  What we discover about ourselves may fill our hearts with deep sorrow.  This remorse, though, is a good thing.  It can help us draw near to Christ once again and humbly submit ourselves to following God's ways.  Scripture promises that when we are honest about our sinfulness and draw near to God, then God will draw near to us as well.  And as we submit ourselves to the Almighty, we will be filled with a the purifying grace that brings us back into right relationship with God and one another.

Our world seems full of conflict and dispute now more than ever.  Rather than continuing to cast  around for someone to blame for the world's ills, let us cast our gaze inward to ponder what motivates our own words, deeds, and decisions.  I guarantee that some of the change that needs to occur in the world must start within each of us.  Once we have identified which of our own worldly fears and cravings are part of the problem, let us ask our Savior to purify our hearts so that we may be reconciled with God and one another.  For the more we cast our eyes up to heaven and sing, "Nearer my God to Thee," the closer God will draw near to us, and the more the angels will beckon us into the realm of perfect love.

Prayer

Good and Gracious God, you know the ways that I have wandered from your side in search of worldly things.  Draw near me now, oh Lord, so that the grace of Jesus Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit Guide my guide my straying feet back to you.  Cleanse my hands, Purify my heart, and bring peace to my conflicted mind.  May I abide in your Love and sing "nearer my God to thee" for all of my days.  Amen.