Friday, February 14, 2014

Intimacy



Do you KNOW God?  or do you know about God?  There is a difference and I'm afraid too many of us don't know what that difference is.   We tend to think if we know a lot about God - we could totally win a game of  Bible Trivia - then we know God.  But that couldn't be further from the truth.

Knowing God is an intimacy that many Christians today lack.  They can find scriptures, quote verses, tell you lists of miracles that Jesus performed. They can quote the stats of Jesus like they can quote the stats of their favorite Actor or Athlete.  All of these things are good - Jesus studied the scriptures and had a knowledge of them - but knowledge without knowing isn't necessarily intimacy.

What does intimacy mean?  -a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group.  Did you catch that?  PERSONAL relationship.  How do we obtain a personal relationship?  We spend time with a person to get personal.  We talk to them about their dreams, their desires, their wants.  We ask questions and get personal.  Do you do that with God?  Do you spend time with Him?  Do you talk to Him and get to know Him?  Do you ask questions and listen for answers?  Or do you just give him a few minutes each day and check a box saying "prayed today"?

In Psalm 139 David prays "O Lord, you have examined my heart and KNOW everything about me.  You KNOW when I sit down or stand up.  You KNOW my thoughts even when I'm far away.  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You KNOW everything I do.  You KNOW what I am going to say even before I say it." 

The same word used to describe a man and a wife is used to describe how God KNOWS you and how he wants to be KNOWN by you.   That is the intimacy he wants.  As a bride is known by her husband so God wants to know you.  




 Consider the person you are married to or dating....how do you know you love that person? Is it because you know things ABOUT that person, or is it because you have spent time getting to KNOW that person?  Every important relationship in our lives requires time and commitment.  The most important relationship is your relationship with Jesus, yet we as Christians give him the least amount of time out of our day, and then we wonder why bad things happen, or why we are struggling, or why our faith seems so weak.  Consider today your intimacy with God.  If its weak, what can you do to make it stronger?  God wants to KNOW you.  Do you want to know about him or KNOW him today?

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