Intimacy

Before I get started, I want to make it clear that the God I believe in, is the one and only God. He is the God of the Hebrews, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is not only the God of the Old Testament He is the God of the New testament. I believe that God sent His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). I believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, God's only Son, the Messiah that the prophets spoke of. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, He was crucified, and resurrected three days later by the power of God. He is part of the Holy Trinity. The God I believe in, is Y-weh, the Great I Am. He is not Allah, Buddha, Krishna, John Smith, the Pope or any other..He is the One true God according to the Torah and the Bible.

Intimacy...This is a word that is associated with love, close friendship, involvement, etc. Intimacy in today's world, is often related to sexual attraction. However I want to analyze the true meaning of intimacy with God, not referring to physical intimacy, but spiritual intimacy. When I think of Intimacy, I think of the words mentioned above. As friends grow closer, they become more intimate in the way they interact, how they treat each other. With intimacy comes a deeper friendship. Intimacy brings closeness and a passion. Intimacy involves passion.

Intimacy though, requires faith as well. Or is it through faith that we obtain intimacy? Intimacy and faith are dependent on each other. If its not for faith in God, we wouldn't have an intimate relationship with Him. However without intimacy, without really coming to know, love, and trust in God, we would be denying growth in our faith.

From the beginning of time, God has desired an intimate relationship with man. He used to visit Adam and Eve in the Garden. It was one in which God and his creations visited and began to know one another. Trust was established, which is crucial for intimacy to function. However man broke that trust between him and God, and the intimacy factor was severed. After the fall, God began to make advances towards humanity, once again. After all, humans were created in His image.

One reason man betrayed God, was because of external distractions. In the garden, it was just creation, man, and God...and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. For so long, Adam and Eve kept their focus on God. However, as soon as Eve gave one ounce of her attention to the Serpent (Satan),she was led astray. The distraction was always there, but as soon as soon she began to look elsewhere for intimacy, she put the intimacy with God on the line. They had chosen. The Spirit of God could not dwell in the same place where sin was allowed. Eventually the intimacy they once shared with God, took on another form. Since they had given into sin, they no longer shared the face to face interaction they had with God every day. Despite this, God still pursued man, even in our fallen state.

It was intimacy with God, that made Abraham leave the land of his fathers in search of the land promised to him by God. Looking back at Abraham's life, we see that Abraham's life was full of faith. Romans 4:3 claims that, "Abraham believed God..." Abraham simply believed God when He told him to pack up and leave his homeland. Because of this simple act of obedience, and many more to follow, for hundreds of years later, God Himself is known as "The God of Abraham."

King David shared intense intimacy with God. Why? Because wherever he went, he went because he was obedient to God. One way to look at intimacy through the life of David is realizing that there is a connection between David and God, in which there is intense conflict, and intense loyalty. God of course, is loyal, He has taken all the steps necessary in which we can have an intimate relationship with Him. David realized this and sought after God with all His heart. Through all David's conflicts, we can see that he sought God out for everything. Because of such intimacy, we now recognize David as a man after God's own heart.

God has always desired to have an intimate (close) relationship with His creation. Throughout the Bible He makes various advances towards mankind to offer intimacy with Him. His greatest attempt to bring us back into a true intimate relationship came with Jesus. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." What greater sign that God desires us, than giving us the life and gift of His ONLY Son? This proves that God desires to restore what we lost during the fall of man, His Spirit that resides in us.

Even though there are many great examples of Godly men and women who were obedient to the Lord in the Old Testament, they never had the Spirit of God on the inside of them. God would always fall ON them, but never resided in them, because of their sinful nature. However, when we become reconciled to God, through Christ Jesus, we are made as new vessels, that His Holy Spirit can reside in. What a great and wonderful gift to know that I have been reconciled and made righteous before God! Not only that, but because His Spirit resides in me, I can approach His throne room with confidence (Hebrews 4:16).

Since His Spirit resides in me, the relationship God has desired to have with man has been restored. "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men." (Romans 5:18) However, just as it was with Eve, there are always distractions. School, work, sin, the mundane activities of everyday life, becoming so bogged down "serving" God that we actually miss His calling. All these things, and more, are external distractions that pull a our focus away from God. Satan uses these things to try to capture our attention for just one moment, to get our eyes off of Him. When Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, he was swallowed up by the waves of the Sea of Galilee.

As I said before, God has done everything necessary to be in an intimate relationship with us. He has wooed us, and called out to us. Will we answer? Make no mistake, you are either walking on the water with your eyes fast on Jesus, or you are sinking in whatever else you might put your focus on. In Song of Solomon, the lovers go back and forth in these scriptures, proclaiming their undying love for one another. They have eyes only for each other. Are our eyes only on Him?

There is a cost of intimacy. Whether it be your friends, your social life, your money, your time, among other things. We can't be afraid to cry out to Him, "I love you Lord! I love you more than life itself! I abandoned my all to you! I desire to know you!" Sometimes in our quiet times, we have to say, "I'm going to touch you Jesus. I'm going to get a touch from you!" God has been, is, and will always be proactive in wooing us to be more intimate with Him. He is there waiting for us to run to our Abba. We have to set our faces as flint and determine we gotta have Him more than anything else! Let us enter into the romance with our God who gave His all. He desires you. Do you desire Him enough to run to His outstretched arms, with your eyes fixed on Him?

I am my beloveds, and my beloved is mine.
Ani le dodi, ve dodi li.