The One Thing Needful

Greetings Friend.

A new year has presented itself to us. Unfortunately, many Christians will live unintentionally regarding their relationship with God throughout this New Year, as seems they determined to do during the year that just expired. Yes, it is extremely difficult to remain consciously engaged with what we know and understand about God and ourselves; consistently living out of a reservoir of revelation and God knowledge, per say. Life gets in the way, and we get distracted or simply forget about the importance of drawing close to God and living out what He’s permitted us to know. Perhaps there is a simpler way, or a different vision, for living with God for this New Year. If so, this different vision may lead to a more fruitful and meaningful experience with God for us going forward. This way concerns “The One Thing Needful.”

The notion of “The One Thing Needful” is something I’ve come across in a few of the writings I routinely access. According to Soren Kierkegaard, The One Thing Needful seems to be the living as an individual first, and then as an individual living consciously aware of being in God’s presence all the time. This core relational disposition and understanding drives all else. Each Christian lives in God’s presence continually, and each of these Christians is conscious of this fact. This being the case, each Christian is able to live from his or her continual and conscious relation with God, always first as an individual, regardless of the abundance of external distractions and demands, or crowds. For living from The One Thing Needful conditions one’s heart and mind, provides immediate and ongoing communion with God, and thus permits each Christian the blessedness of carrying the reality of their God relationship into all events and all other relationships. “Living In” leads to “Living From.”

If the above description is remotely valid, and therefore possible for us, then it really doesn’t matter how much Bible study one does, or how much church one attends (although, the more the better with both). One could be in theory, as many are in reality, a prisoner in the darkest of prisons and—here is the key—if this one has the smallest amount of conscious relationship with God (living faith), then this person can live in light of and from God’s presence, and honor and magnify God, and thus be both joyful and fruitful. Union with God through Jesus Christ provides this. God is that sufficient to His children. If one demands and depends upon some artificially determined quantity of external variables to create a measure of “necessary” faith conditions before honoring and magnifying God, before being joyful and fruitful, then one’s Christian life, in my judgment, is sunk. The One Thing Needful has become The Many Things Required. One knows not life, but death.

Friend, this year, take stock of your relationship with God. Where are you? Where is He? If there is in reality an unholy distance between you and God, one that ought not characterize someone who has been purchased with Christ’s precious blood, be honest about this. Confess this to Him and repent. (See Luke 10:38-42, Rev 3:14-20.)

Ignorance is something that can be overcome, through study. The mind is primarily addressed. One simply does not know. Usually, one can learn.

Apathy is something, too, that can be overcome, but through humility and repentance. The heart is primarily addressed. One simply doesn’t care. The cure for apathy differs from the cure for ignorance. One must begin to genuinely care.

Appeasement is a typical consequence or outcome of being both ignorant and apathetic. Or, knowing but not caring. Both of these are unfortunate states.

It seems that many of us are knowledgeable to a sufficient degree about our relationship with God, but we so easily abide in apathy regarding this gift. Such a state of being knowledgeable but apathetic surely results in appeasement toward our own relation with God and other relationships where we should be for God, or forward with God. As Christians, we do know that God is holy, and we do know about sin. But for many of us, we simply do not care about dealing with sin. We know about the distinction between the world and God’s kingdom, but we do not care about promoting God’s kingdom to the world. We affirm manifest functional appeasement, thus we compromise; yet, we may still believe and convince ourselves that we are godly, holy, and ok.

I gained the following idea from reading Thomas Goodwin recently: The whole of the prophesy (of the Apocalypse, The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ) relates to the coming of Christ’s kingdom and the coming as it occurs through and with the church upon the world. It is the story of Christ’s kingdom, His manifest kingdom opposing worldly authorities and overthrowing them or wearing them out, and rendering the story of His kingdom more glorious then earthly kingdoms or powers could ever dream.

Dear friend, this year consider The One Thing Needful regarding your relationship with God. Understand, then live, the simplicity of living in God’s presence. Dispense with ignorance. Remove apathy. Avoid appeasement. Be a person who relates to God in such a way that you actually participate in Jesus Christ manifesting His kingdom in and through your life, touching other people and ungodly powers, displaying to the world that no rule or reality, no kingdom or power, is more glorious and desirable than that of Jesus Christ. If you do this, you do well. You will not only have known about The One Thing Needful, but you will have experienced and enjoyed its reality to the fullest.

God’s Best To You