Photo Above: Hunan, China. Photographer: Chensiyuan
Intimacy with Christ
“Jonathon Aitken, a former Member of Parliament in Great Britain, compares his early relationship with God to that with a bank manager: “I spoke to him politely, visited his premises intermittently, occasionally asked him for a small favor or overdraft to get myself out of difficulty, thanked him condescendingly for his assistance, kept up the appearance of being one of his reasonably reliable customers, and maintained superficial contact with him on the grounds that one of these days he might come in useful.” When convicted of perjury and sentenced to prison, Aitken decided to pursue amore personal relationship.” (Yancey, p.46)
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15 ESV
Jesus Christ’s death on the cross was not only sacrificial, but it was also an act of initiative. God took the initiative to pursue us. God pursues us that we may know Him intimately and eternally. He desires us to become partakers of His nature and bring glory to Him on earth. He desires to have His Holy Spirit live inside us, know us, and live through us.
Two thousand years ago, shortly after the last breath came out of Jesus on the cross, the earth shook, and the veil of the inner temple was torn in half. This signified God’s removal of the previous barriers to know God. Jeremiah spoke of this 500 years before it happened.
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Before the tearing of the inner veil, only the high priest, could enter the most Holy Place where God resided. He could only do this once a year. With the tearing of the inner veil, Jesus is now calling us to live in intimate fellowship with Him. God does not call us slaves, He calls us sons and daughters. He loves us with sacrificial love and with a love we do not understand. Mark Driscoll made a great statement regarding God’s love towards us “God doesn’t need us, but even better he desires us.”
We obtain intimacy with Christ through the Holy Spirit by praying, meditating on the scriptures, reading the scriptures, and letting God into all parts of our lives.
Questions to think about:
-Do you desire to know Christ intimately?
-Are you letting God into all parts of your life? What parts are you holding back and why?
two minute devotional 