All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:3)

God’s creation fully exemplifies a diversity of personal color, size, shape, detail, function, purpose. Even identical twins are noted to have different fingerprints. ¹ Each creation unique and individual. The Artist God, the Designer God, the Creator God– intimate with His creation.

¹³ For Thou didst form my inward parts,
Thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise Thee, for Thou art fearful and wonderful.^[a]
Wonderful are Thy works!
Thou knowest me right well;
¹⁵     my frame was not hidden from Thee,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;
in Thy book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

(Psalm 139:13-16)

²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  (Matthew 10: 29-31)

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God knows us intimately and personally. The question we must ask ourselves, “Are we personal and intimate with Him?” Is He the One we turn to first when we are confronting day-to-day problems, facing major crises, seeking answers, fighting fear and anxiety, wanting comfort, hoping for hope?

The change in the world now and in the future, if God allows it, occurs first within me and you through intimacy with Him. The ripple outward to others happens when we become more like Him.

In an impersonal world of more online contact and less one-on-one interaction in person, such distancing has allowed us to create a masked version of ourselves. Through email, text, Facebook clicks/comments, we do not have eye contact, and tone of voice with inflections of meaning heard in speech are missing. We can use filters to enhance our selfie pictures. Even on a visual chat, there is a distance and the opportunity to mask. This impersonal medium allows us to present just what we want others to see.

With God, there is no mask. He is I AM from the beginning through eternity.

What about us? We may present ourselves masked before the world, at church services, to our neighbors, in the workplace, even with friends and at home—but we cannot wear the mask before God. He knows us, the real you and me.

The change in the world must start by each one of us removing the mask before others and engaging more one-on-one, in-person, allowing Christ to be seen. Jesus, in one-on-one connections with individuals, unmasked the woman at the well and the rich, young ruler—to help them really see themselves and change. The Samaritan woman seemed to believe He was the Messiah and went back to her village to share this revelation, thus impacting others to seek Him; there was a change in her. The rich, young ruler, however, was saddened when he heard what Jesus asked of him. There is no indication of a change in him that would lead to sharing the Lord with others.

Are we, like that young man, saddened by what Jesus asks of us to the point that we do not make changes within that will show outwardly to others the nature of Christ? Intimacy with the Lord our God is crucial to change within and visibility without. We must be intimate and personal, one-on-one, with Jesus every day.

Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His presence continually! (I Chronicles 16:11)

¹sciencefocus.com

(Sharon G. Tate blog 06/14/2020) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word