The Presence of God

“For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” Luke 17:21

 The Aramaic Bible interestingly translates this verse “The Kingdom of God is within SOME of you." I think I prefer this translation!

Some people have the gift of bringing the presence of God with them even in the mundane, ordinary, tedious tasks of every day life. I would like to be like Brother Lawrence, an uneducated lay brother with the Discalced Carmelites, who practiced infusing his work in the kitchen with love for God.

For this simple man, "common business," any mundane task like washing dishes or peeling potatoes could bring God’s love into His life and to the lives of others. 

"Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . . We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of Him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God."

That is how the Kingdom of God will be in our midst. Imagine if we were surrounded with brothers and sisters who rejoiced in their every day work, who prayed constantly and spread God’s love and kindness. Imagine if we ourself was like that! What a beautiful world this would be!