You Want to be Where?

We sing a lot of songs about being near to God. And, before I get into trouble, I like many of them. They're good songs. Songs like “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross” and “I Just Want to be Where You Are” express some very valid spiritual yearnings. And yet, when I look at the biblical picture, I find myself wondering if we've had a bit of a misfire. Increasingly, I'm seeing that the vision in scripture is of the God who longs to dwell with his people. The Tabernacle was about God in the midst of the camp. The temple was about God in the midst of the nation. The incarnation of Jesus, and even more so the sending of the Holy Spirit, is about God in our midst. And some of the last words of scripture state, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them” (Rev 21:3). In our very right desire to find ourselves near to God, have we missed the fact that the big story of the Bible is about God being with us? What if we had a song like this:

You just want to be where we are

Dwelling daily in our presence

We don't have to worship from afar

You are near to where we are

You just want to be where we are

In our dwelling place forever

You're coming to the place where we are

You just want to be with us

You want to be where we are

Dwelling in our presence

Feasting with us at your table

Surrounding us with glory

In our presence

That's where you've always longed to be

You just want to be

You just want to be with us

There are parts of that that were uncomfortable to change. As I sing it through, it almost feels selfish and prideful. There's a discomfort here that may explain why the reality of God's nearness to his people doesn't seem to be well represented in our hymnody. But let's get comfortable – not less awestruck at his greatness, but more comfortable with boldly singing the things that he reveals about himself. Yes, we want to be near to him. But even more, we anticipate the day that he will be truly be as near to us as near can be. It's what he has always wanted.