cultivating our intimacy with God

Here is the lesson I taught this morning to the high school kids:

All throughout the scriptures, in both the Old and New Testaments, people are intimate with GOD in a real, concrete way: they feel His presence, hear His voice, and experience His involvement in their lives. Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Samuel and David in the Old Testament experienced intimacy with GOD; Peter, John, and Paul experienced intimacy with GOD in the New Testament. An unfortunate mistake is to be under the impression that this kind of intimacy is a thing of the past. I believe that this kind of intimacy is available to us now, if we will only embrace it!

When GOD created the world, He made it so that mankind—male and female—were intimate and connected with Him. In Genesis 3.8, we have an image of GOD walking about in the Garden, mingling with mankind in a walking, talking, dynamic relationship; in the ancient Near Eastern cultures, friends would visit one another in the evening, so Genesis 3.8 shows us that—as GOD designed us—we are meant to be close, genuine friends with GOD. Because of sin, however, this intimacy and connection with GOD has been broken (in the scriptures, this is called “spiritual death”). At the cross, GOD forgives our sin so that we can now experience intimacy with Him, and we don’t have to wait till Heaven—this intimacy is available now! He has returned to us what our sin took from us: connection with Him!

When we rise from the waters of baptism, a new life of intimacy has been gifted to us. This new life is a life of connection and intimacy with GOD. Someone asks, “I’ve been baptized, so why don’t I experience this intimacy with GOD? If you’re right, how come I do not feel His presence, how come I do not hear His voice, how come I don’t experience His involvement in my life?” Some will answer, “It’s GOD’s fault: He’s hidden Himself.” I view this as a cop-out answer; we don’t like responsibility or guilt, so we tag GOD as the cause for a shortsighted intimacy. I say, “GOD does not hide Himself from us; rather, we hide ourselves from GOD.” The answer to the person’s question is, “We don’t experience this intimacy because we do not take the time to cultivate it!” GOD took the initiative in our salvation: He sought us. To us now, He says, “Seek Me, and you will find Me.” He is crying out to us, “Get to know Me more!” The responsibility of cultivating our intimacy with GOD lies with us, not the Creator; GOD invites us into a “deeper connection” with Him, but He does not force it—the decision to a “deeper connection” with GOD is up to us.

“Okay,” someone says. “I want to deepen my connection with GOD. I want to feel His presence, I want to hear His voice, I want to experience His involvement in my life. So now what do I do?” Well, there are no magic buttons, no secret formulas, and no special prayers to unlocking a deeper connection with GOD. Like any relationship, cultivating our intimacy with GOD takes time. When we experience salvation, we become friendly acquaintances with GOD—but more is possible! Throughout our lives, as we bathe in GOD’s presence and live our lives alongside Him, our intimacy deepens: the friendship and connection between us and God intensifies. In Heaven, the intimacy climaxes in what is symbolically viewed as a “heavenly wedding” between the people of GOD and GOD Himself.

The questioner protests, “But, wait, you didn’t answer my question: how do I cultivate this intimacy with GOD?” We cultivate our intimacy with GOD through spiritual disciplines. Through the scriptures, GOD has revealed to us that we can come to Him and connect with Him in what are called “spiritual disciplines.” Spiritual disciplines are simply ways we can connect with GOD. If the climax of our intimacy with GOD is a symbolic wedding, then the moments when we fall before GOD in the spiritual disciplines can be viewed as “dates”: GOD holds flowers out to us, inviting us to get to know Him more during the “courtship” of our lives. Through these disciplines, we connect with GOD, and our intimacy with Him deepens. We begin to feel GOD’s presence in our lives, we begin to hear His voice more-and-more, and we experience GOD daily as He involves Himself in our lives and in the world around us.

Someone asks, “What are some of these spiritual disciplines?” While there are many, three stick out to me in my mind: first, prayer. Prayer is when we talk to GOD and He speaks back; it is a conversational dialogue between us and GOD, like Elijah at Mt. Horeb; as our intimacy with GOD deepens, we will begin to experience and enjoy this conversational relationship. Another that I am fond of is meditation: this isn’t Buddhist monk meditation (though there’s nothing wrong with that!); this is where we meditate upon—ponder—GOD’s word and let Him speak to us through it. Another is worship; one of the Greek words for “worship,” proskuneo, can be translated, “to kiss the face of GOD.” In these disciplines, we connect with GOD and our intimacy deepens.

A hand raises up, and someone ponders, “What will happen in my life as my intimacy with GOD deepens through spending time with Him in these spiritual disciplines?” Well, we’ll begin to feel His presence, begin to feel the joy and peace and contentment that is produced just by being in His presence. We begin to hear His voice: He speaks to us, and we speak back (it is a conversational relationship!). We begin to experience Him in our lives in numerous ways, and we are transformed: just as best friends become like one another as they spend more and more time together, so we begin to take on the character of GOD as we spend more and more time with Him. We are transfigured into a people of love, a people who are selfless, serving, sacrificial, humble, kind, compassionate, caring, generous, merciful, and graceful, as well as very concerned about justice in the world. As our connection with GOD deepens, our entire lives are totally transformed—for the better!

Right now, however, our intimacy with GOD is not complete, and it will not be in this lifetime. It is but a “shadow” of what is to come at consummation; we will not experience full intimacy with GOD when we join Him in paradise. In Heaven, our intimacy with GOD is compared to a marriage: we will live in a walking, talking relationship with GOD.

GOD’s invitation is open: “Seek Me, and you will find Me!” He is crying out to people everywhere, heartbroken as they continue to turn away from Him. He wants to know us more! The choice to enjoy a wonderful, new kind of life is open to everyone now. Does one have to cultivate their intimacy with GOD in order to experience salvation? No, for this is a non-issue; yet, how many people can claim Christ as King and not want to cultivate their intimacy with GOD? May you cultivate your connection with GOD, and may you experience a totally new and wonderful and beautiful way of life!”