“Light from on high”
– Luk 1:78 (AMP)
Intimacy with God
To some believers, “intimacy with God”, is a somewhat strange concept. What does it really mean, and how can it be attained? Understanding that “God is love” (1 Joh 4:8 & :16), helps clarify that.
Love has different dimensions, e.g. friendship-love, family-love, romantic-love, erotic-love, Divine-love. If God is love, then His love is possible on all levels. We may shy away from the idea of erotic love, because isn’t that “carnal” and just possible in bodies of flesh and blood? Well, if we are called the “bride” of Christ, then surely no level of intimacy is excluded. Human sexual pleasure between a man and his wife, is but a very limited analogy of the depth of oneness possible with God. Of course, I am not blatantly talking about the “physical” aspect of sex, but the “becoming one” that leads to mutual satisfaction. Jesus clearly hinted that in Joh 17: 22 & 23 when He prayed to the Father “that they may be one as We are one: I in them and You in Me”. Trust me, God desires you more that you could ever imagine!
It is indeed possible to be intimate with God. The intimacy with God is just on a much, much higher experience level than any human love expression. But how is that attained? Again, to understand it better, we can refer back to the elements of human intimacy between a husband and his wife. Firstly, intimate oneness is only meant to be experienced in the bond of marriage – more correctly, in the “covenant” of marriage. That means, desiring to have an intimate relationship with God has as prerequisite, total commitment. Secondly, intimacy follows a lifestyle of service, sharing, honour, respect, and romancing. Desiring intimacy with God without the preceding characteristics, would be totally inappropriate.
I want to close with a very important statement: Intimacy is costly! Are we willing to pay the price? The price is self-denial, time with God (“redeeming the time” – Eph 5:16 NKJV) and a persistent seeking of God. One author called it “chasing after God”. Friends, our experience of God can be mind-blowing – way beyond anything human relationships can achieve! Deut 6:5 reads “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”. Then, Jer 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
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UPCOMING Events:
Ladies Camp: Fri 29 Sep 2017 (18h00) to Sun 1 Oct 2017 @ Constantia Rus (Vaal River)
Ethiopian Outreach (Gambela) 16-22 Oct 2017 (team leaves 13 Oct, returns 25 Oct)
REGISTRATIONS: (at the Info Desk at Church)
New member applications: Estelle – 0824902274
Water Baptisms: Dunia – 0612241522
Child Dedications: George – 0823207014 (ask for the dedication form)