Recognizing God's Presence

By Bishop Brian Maas

And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.  --Galatians 4:6-7

 Paul writes, “because you are children,” not suggesting we’re childish but making the point that believers aren’t just slaves who work for a family, but children of that family. The first gift of being a child is that of the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with that awareness; an awareness that we can call on God not just as some distant deity, but as Father—“Abba!” (“Daddy!”) as both Jesus and Paul make clear.

One of the many great joys of being a parent is the memory of our kids being toddlers and their response when they’d see my face across a room. There was an instant of recognition, and then a smile, and then a full-bore charge to run and be with daddy. We’ve all seen it. Having experienced it firsthand as a parent, I wonder if this isn’t what God is hoping for us daily—not some structured religious practice but a recognition of God’s presence in other people, in events, in nature; and a corresponding recognition and eager charge, in prayer or even a brief pause of gratitude, to the one who urges us to call out “Daddy!”

The gift of the Holy Spirit is that very recognition and that impulse to charge toward God in prayer. And if we all respond to God as Father, we cannot help but see one another as brother and sister. Even those with whom we disagree—or whom we dislike—are drawn closer in the recognition that we are all God’s children.

Father, grant us the Spirit to see and recognize you in moments throughout the day and, in our recognition, charge toward you in prayer, gratitude and love not only for you but for all whom you have gathered as your children.



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