More From Zach Schaar

March 21, 2023 by Zach Schaar (Ohio, USA)

Since I wrote my meditation about drawing near to God, much has changed. For one, I’ve realized that the more time I spend chasing after God and God’s word, the more I see that God has never been far away. Growing up, I was led to believe that no matter what I did, things were as good as they were ever going to get. Eventually, I stopped trying to follow God closely because I imagined God didn’t want my baggage slowing him down. But as the years pass by, I realize God does not desire perfection—God desires closeness. Even as I am writing, my heart longs to be near God, and I can feel God’s presence from within me. No matter what I’ve done, forgiveness restores my relationship with the Father.

Since my initial writing, my daughters are now growing up—they are ages 3 and 4. As a parent, I have the opportunity to make sure my children do not have the same misconceptions about God that I did growing up. I consider this a blessing. Every day is an opportunity to teach them how to follow God, how to seek forgiveness from God, and how to be used by God.

My wife and I have made it our goal for the next eighteen years to build our girls’ lives around the firm foundation which is Christ. When they are old, our prayer is they will do what the Bible says and not depart from it. We rarely miss church services (unless due to vacations or sickness), we read the Bible and pray regularly, and above all else, we make it clear that God is not someone you run to occasionally—God is someone you converse with daily. Our children are learning that when someone realizes how much Jesus loves them, it doesn’t feel like work or a burden to desire Jesus’ presence. When a person has the peace that passes all understanding permeate their life, they want to be in Church and want to pray.

In my own walk, the Lord is revealing new things to me every day about the closeness of God. When I repent, sin will no longer keep me from God, and neither will my thoughts of defeat. The older I get, the more I realize God has been with me all along. God has revealed to me that God had a plan for my life all along, that God knew me in the womb of my mother, and that the same is true for all of humanity.

As I look back on my childhood introduction to church and God, I could easily harbor resentment or bitterness, but I don’t. God has found a way to use everything I’ve been through to give me more love and appreciation for God. As I age, my life’s goal is to teach my children to stay on the path, to love God with all their hearts, and to pass on the good news of salvation to generations long after I am gone.


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