Oh my! Psalm 84 says a mouthful. It is filled with longing and with hope.
The author longs for the courts of the Lord; his whole being cries out for the Living God. Even the sparrow and the swallow seem blessed because they have found a place near His altar. He wants to be where God dwells.

What a fitting end to a week about the body of Christ. The deepest gift we’ve been given as God’s people is God Himself. The church isn’t ultimately held together by common interests, similar personalities, respected traditions, or well-put-together programs. We have been gathered around the presence and reign of the Living God Himself.
 
In Jesus, this reality is even more astounding. No longer is the presence of God found only in the Temple in Jerusalem. No, in Jesus, God has made His dwelling among us. He has reconciled us to Himself through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And now, the Spirit has come to dwell within His people, making us together a holy temple, the literal dwelling place of the Most High.
 
We belong to one another because we belong to Him! That means Christian community will never make sense if God is relegated to a secondary place. The body cannot, will not, flourish if its members simply gather around ourselves instead of around Him. Psalm 84 draws our attention back to where it belongs; back to Him.
 
“Better a day in your courts than a thousand anywhere else.” The great hope of Scripture isn’t that God will bring us better circumstances, fix our marriages, or even provide daily provision. Our great hope is that He has come to dwell with His people. This is why it amazes me to some degree that so many Christians today speak of being with Him only when we leave this world through death or His physical return. It’s a shallow theology that robs His people of the true joy of the hear and now, of the already not yet of the Kingdom of Heaven. The story of Emanual, of God with us. Truly, the Most High has come to dwell with us NOW!

There will surely come a day, the day of the not yet, when this will be fully known and fully experienced upon His return. Until then, we gather, worship, serve, forgive, and walk together in unity as a foretaste of that new creation. One body. One Lord. One people learning together that there is nowhere better than to be at home with God.  

What do you most desire from life with God’s people? How might your relationships within the body change if your deepest shared desire became simply to know, enjoy, and honor God together?

Father, You yourself are the greatest treasure of all. Thank you for drawing us close and giving us each other, a people built to worship You. Center our lives together on Your presence, and make us a faithful glimpse for the world to see of what You are making new. Amen.

“What I most want to enjoy with God’s people is __________________.”