I remember I was hanging out with some of my buddies on a Monday at lunch. I had asked them about their weekends and mornings, and they talked about how they had gone to church, served at a middle school youth group, and spent a lot of quality time with God at church. I, on the other hand, did not do those things. I had spent the weekend up with my family in the mountains skiing. Now, don’t get me wrong, I had a ton of fun, but I couldn’t help but feel like I had almost done less that weekend because I didn’t spend it with God at church. It felt like I had missed a weekend to grow in my relationship with God. But the truth is that I didn’t.

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One of the most interesting stories in the Bible is the one where Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding in Cana. The bridegroom ran out of wine for the party, so Jesus filled up 6 big jars with water and then turned it into wine. And the master of the banquet said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now” (John 2:10). ​He saved the party and saved the bridegroom from utter humiliation and ridicule. But what I find interesting is the fact that Jesus was partying at the wedding. Wedding celebrations in the time of Jesus were up to a week of eating, drinking, singing, dancing, and time with friends and family. A time of celebration and decompression from the rest of life. And Jesus, God in the flesh, spent the week, eating, drinking, singing, dancing, and spending time with friends and family.

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Jesus wasn’t less productive because he spent the week away from the temple, nor was he not living up to his potential by partying at this wedding away from the spiritual center of Jerusalem. God himself was at this wedding, celebrating, talking, laughing, eating, drinking, and living. God didn’t miss out on an opportunity to grow because he wasn’t at the temple, He is the temple.

 

Jesus said to his disciples, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit is with us always, whether we are in a church or on the slopes, or at home, or at the grocery store. He is with us. We don’t miss out on God because we weren’t in a specific place at a specific time. We miss out on God if we don’t open our eyes, seeing that He is by our side everywhere we go.

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Paul says in First Corinthians, “​Do you not know​ ​that​ ​your​ ​body​ ​is​ ​a temple​ ​of the​ ​Holy Spirit​ ​who is in​ ​you,​ ​whom​ ​you have received​ ​from​ ​God?​” (1 Corinthians 6:19). In the same way that Jesus was still fully God at a wedding at Cana while partying and celebrating, let us not forget that God is still fully with us, no matter what we are doing. Ask God to show you what He is doing beyond just the church steeple. I know that I have experienced God as much if not more when I am doing normal things or things that aren’t normal spiritual practices. God is with you just as much when you are skiing down a slope in Breck, as he is when you are sitting in a pew at church. Just open your eyes to see what he is doing, you would be surprised to see.