“Forget what happened long ago! Don’t think about the past. I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it? I have put roads in deserts, Streams in thirsty lands.[1]”
“I live in…” you might respond. No, I don’t mean reside; where does your mind dwell, the past, present or future?
Before I discuss this point further, let me share this interpretation of a Biblical version of dwell and reside with you:
“Both words convey the idea of living somewhere, but “dwell” tends to evoke a sense of comfort or attachment, while “reside” is often associated with a legal or official status.”[2]
“The Greek word ‘skēnoō’ means ‘tent or camp’ and is used figuratively to describe God’s presence among His people.”
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”[3]
Let’s return to: ‘Where does your mind dwell, the past, present or future?’ Where would you be dwelling if you were in God’s presence? Now, of course. Now is the moment that everything happens in our lives. It didn’t happen yesterday because that’s history, and it doesn’t happen tomorrow, not at least until tomorrow happens to become today. Even if we look at today, what happened this morning (it’s 4.30 pm UTC+1 as I write) is also history; at 6 pm now will be history too! So, you would be dwelling in the now in the presence of God. And that never changes – God is always present in the now moment.
Where is God’s dwelling place? “…now among the people, He will dwell with them…” God is in you and me; we are ‘in Him.’
“By this, we know that we abide in Him and He in us because He has given us of His Spirit.”[4]
We agree then that God dwells in the now moment in us. What is the loss of living in the past or future via our minds?
“I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it?”
We will miss what God is telling us now. To illustrate, Johnny is in school and gazing out the class window, wondering if his pet dog will be well when he gets home after school while his teacher is explaining something. “Did you understand what I said, Johnny?” No, he didn’t, did he? Why? Because his mind was in the future, not in the now!
Let me tell you the story of the monk and the novice:
The two were walking down the hill, where they would cross the river on the way to the monastery. They found a young woman weeping on the bank when they reached the river.
“What is it that ails you, child?” the monk asked.
“I am too afraid to cross the river, for I fear I shall drown.”
“Come, child, I will take you across.” The monk lifted her onto his back, and the three crossed the river.”
About an hour after the two had walked a long distance, the novice asked the monk, “Father, how is it that you touched that woman when our order strictly forbids it?”
“My son, I left that woman on the bank an hour ago. Are you still carrying her?”
There are two lessons for us here:
First, the story has vague reminiscences about the Samaritan woman.[5] Rules must give way to love and compassion.
Secondly, the novice would have missed the value of the hour-long walk with the wise monk because he was dwelling on an event that had already become history.
How many of us dwell in the past via the thoughts in our minds? We hold grudges against others who have offended us, saying we have forgiven them but cannot forget what they did to us. How many of us bear thoughts of fear and anxiety for the future? Jesus knew that these thoughts were the enemy of faith when he said:
“Don’t worry and ask yourselves, “Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?”[6]
He might have told His Disciples, “If you keep worrying about what’s ahead of you, you will miss what I am sharing with you now.” Like little Johnny and the novice, their minds lived in the wrong time zone!
Until next time,
Love and Blessings
Peter James.