Posted by The difference between believing in something and knowing about something is huge! As an example, a person can believe in China. They have no doubt of its existence. They may have some small knowledge of its history and people and for that reason, perhaps even an abiding respect for that land. There are also many in the US who love the food!
But those same people do not really know China. If they went to China and got to know her and her people, they would gain personal knowledge of that land. They would develop an intimacy of sorts with China. They would realize that Chinese food over there is not exactly what you would get back home at the local strip mall.
So, believing in China and really knowing China are two vastly different things. That distinction would certainly change one’s perception of China, as well as their feelings about her. Moreover, you can say the same thing about that distinction regarding anything; the difference between being aware of or believing in something vs. knowing it and having intimacy with it.
This is especially true of God.
The difference between believing He exists and having personal knowledge of Him is beyond significant; it is life-altering. There are many who believe in Him that don’t know Him. Oh, they truly believe in His existence and if you ask them on a lie-detector they would pass when they say “yes.” It’s not like with Santa or the Easter bunny; they really do believe in God. But these same people of whom I speak do not know Him. They have no intimacy with Him. Worse of all they are not aware of the distinction. They are indeed Christians, albeit tepid ones.
As a result, they are missing out on the most important relationship in their life and the optimal chance for a good life. Ironically, those who truly do not believe in Him at all might fare better in God’s sight than those who knew He was there, but then summarily dismissed Him. At least the former could plead ignorance; the latter would be guilt of apathy.
In our Western culture, we became so used to being detached from the God we believe in, eventually it has made it easy for us to forget Him altogether. Not everyone, of course, but society as a whole. As a result, few even seem to want to admit to being Christians anymore. It appears that in these times, there really is some stigma associated with being Christian, or at least admitting as much.
According to the herd mentality of those in opposition, Christianity is bad because it is intolerant of others. This is due to the Christian tenet that Christ is the only way to God, which Christ Himself proclaimed. In today’s world that is translated to “we are right, and you are wrong!” So, many non-Christians take offense that their religions are being relegated, while atheists point to Christians as the worst of what religion represents…exclusion.
This way of thinking has become so prevalent in American culture, it is understanding if genuine Christians are reluctant to admit their faith, let alone proactively put it in front of others. For this reason, I fear many Christians seek comfort in a tepid faith. They become comfortable just knowing they believe in God, quietly; not making a big deal out of it. Maybe just casually going to church on Sunday.
The problem is, as you downplay your own faith outwardly, it ultimately has the same effect on your faith inwardly. Eventually, God becomes a nice idea we keep in our hearts that brings comfort when we are down and helps to keep our impulses in check. So, tepid Christians can really love God and benefit from their faith and embrace the comfortable, humility of knowing there is something greater than themselves in life; not to mention hope after death. Their beliefs are real, and they benefit from them.
It is possible to get comfortable as a Christian living your faith this way and settling into a routine that supports your belief system in a more reserved and private manner. God is real to you, and you may even give thought to Him now and then as you busy yourself about your day. You also make a sincere effort to do the “right” thing in your affairs because of Him, as you live out your life.
This is not a bad way to live and may be representative of authentic faith, but it misses out on so much more. This acknowledgement of and reverence to God is counted as righteousness to be sure, however, it is not intimacy. Having a truly intimate relationship with God though, only happens if God wants it to. We cannot bring it about ourselves; Grace (undeserved favor) rules in this space, same as it does in redemption. The intimacy I speak of is a gift, which God bestows as He pleases. Yet, we can only secure such an invitation by seeking Him in earnest; truly acknowledging that He really does exist and also treating Him like He matters.
Intimate followers of Christ, give thought to God constantly throughout the day. Their conscious minds invoke thoughts of Him frequently while going about their business. One might have quiet conversations with themselves and then realize God is intersecting their thoughts. It becomes a dialogue of sorts between the two of you. No sound…just thoughts. And feelings that well up from inside you. One does not commune with God and remain emotionally detached; peace, wonder, excitement, joy and adoration are just some of the reactions one has in intimate moments with God.
This communion of thought is not so odd as it may seem at first to those who have not experienced such intimacy with God. Most of us have this type of connection with someone in our lives. A mother can rehearse a conversation in her head about a topic she needs to discuss with her son and when it happens her anticipation of what he would say is spot on. A husband may imagine a conversation with his wife to consider how she might react to some idea he has and then will often think better of it. A job seeker anticipates the questions in a job interview and how to answer them. How about the old devil vs. angel debates that happen on our shoulders on occasion? All dialogues we have within ourselves.
In these cases, and others, we try to put ourselves objectively in the middle of a situation, to consider divergent perspectives. How does it look to others? How do others really perceive me? I wonder what their reaction will be? Oh, I can just hear her now! No one ever says, “I can’t imagine what they will say,” and then doesn’t proceed to imagine it. And so it goes, the way we anticipate what others will say and imagine how they will respond to a given circumstance.
The point is, you can channel divergent points in your mind at the same time. We do it all the time, even having arguments with ourselves when we are conflicted. So, when God wants, he just joins the mind traffic in your head, and you can discern His voice from among the din of your own thoughts. At this point, an actual conversation can ensue if God wills it. Yet, this is not the ultimate communion with God. When you have enough of these conversations with Him and He becomes that familiar to you in your day-to-day, you realize He is providing direction to you in subtle ways as you go about your business, counseling you on the best approaches and maybe not so subtlety sometimes.
There was a wonderful, testimony once on Family Talk radio that nicely illustrated this kind of intimacy with God. A woman spoke of the time that she was looking to get clothing donations for a young girl in her church. The child was in desperate need as she was poor and school was about to start, and she had nothing. One day, the woman was walking out the door on her way to Walmart to see about getting a donation for the girl when she was stopped dead in her tracks by God.
She suddenly became uneasy as she was leaving and heard God ask why she had not prayed over the matter. The lady realized God was cautioning her about her plan and decided to go back in the house and pray. She had been considering the issue all morning and had come up with a plan she thought would yield the best result, but she had not specifically prayed about it. So, she went into her bedroom and prayed.
In no uncertain terms, God told her not to go to Walmart, but instead to go to some fine, boutique shop in the mall. The actual place kept popping into her mind as she prayed, God being that specific on this occasion. This caused the lady to balk, noting that she didn’t even buy for her family there, because it was very, expensive, high-end merchandise. Yet, she was starkly convicted on this point, unable to stop thinking of the boutique shop and so she agreed to go.
When she got to the store she went up to the counter and asked if there was any way they would consider donating clothing for the needy girl from her church. As it turns out, the young clerk had just been advised by her manager to make arrangements to donate a bunch of clothing they wanted to discard after inventory, and she was just wondering the best way to do it and whom she should call.
The lady collected a whole pile of size-appropriate clothes for the girl; all fine, top-end clothing that was brand new with no irregularities. As she was thanking the clerk before leaving, she remarked how the girl now had everything she needed, but socks. At that, the clerk went and took a package of socks off a carousel and added it to the burgeoning bag. “A young, lady must have socks!”, she exclaimed.
When I heard this testimony, I giggled and then I cried. Not just because it was a touching and beautiful story, but it was an enormous relief to know that God talked to others like that. He provides specific instruction on how to deal with issues in real life. He will actively guide you and grease rails for you if you are in accord with His will. We are capable of having such a strong relationship with him, He becomes intimate to our thoughts. We become intimate with Him.
Now, while this is undoubtedly a good thing, there are those who would consider this nonsense. Certainly, those who are not believers would balk at such a notion. But even many believers would refuse to believe God operates that intimately with people. And they are correct when you consider people in general, however, there have always been certain people who were intimate with God; David and Moses come immediately to mind.
The beauty is, you don’t have to be the Patriarch of an Israeli tribe to have this kind of intimacy with God. Shepherd boys and peasant girls have had intimacy with God, as well. And since Christ came and restored our communion with God, any true believer can have this level of intimacy with God. Yet, it seems to me, so few Christians ever evolve to that level of faith. The noises of the world and the thoughts of the enemy (yes, the evil one does this too), often crowd out the thoughts that God would share with us.
There’s a reason why the metaphor of a “slippery slope” is used to describe our struggle against sin. The world and its enticements pull us downward, a spiritual gravity of sorts. Due to the desires of the flesh and pride, our inclination is the downward path, and we actively have to fight not to get pulled in a free fall into the pit of wanton sinfulness. Christians, it is said, need to fight a constant battle against the world, the flesh and the devil. This well-worn adage describes an enemy who has the advantage in this battle due to the slippery slope of our natural inclinations.
I have always appreciated the metaphor and have pictured myself on this slope many times, straining as if in a tug of war with myself, trying to back upwards against the terrible weight of my own pride. However, I now believe the better way to look at it is to see myself leading forward as I face my way up the mountain, like an ox pulling its load. In this way, I can see the prize before me instead of having my back to it, which strengthens my resolve as I work my way upslope and turn my back on sin, though it always tugs from behind trying to drag me back down.
The point is that we have to admit our natural tendencies and in-born sinfulness to ourselves and turn away from the enemy as we make our way toward God. In other words, instead of the focus being on the struggle against sin, it should be on getting closer to God. It sounds like the same thing, but the former is playing defense, while the latter is going on offense. The notion of the best defense is an offense applies to spiritual battles and the way to go on offense is to bring God into our day-to-day lives and make Him the centerpiece of our world.
In the crowd-funded series The Chosen, the main characters recite a prayer each morning when they first wake up, before getting out of bed. They sit up, extend their arms with palms up, eyes closed and pray, “I am thankful before you Living and Enduring King, for you have mercifully restored my soul within me. Great is Your Faithfulness!”
I began to do this myself and though I forget sometimes, it has made my days start better when I do. More importantly, I know it pleases God; not because I did something I was supposed to, but because I did something I didn’t have to. When we say good morning to God; or say Grace before a meal; or thank Him for a good day; or thank Him for getting us through a bad day; or ask Him for help; or ask Him to help someone else; or ask for His guidance on anything; or do something good we wouldn’t have done if not for Him; or not do something we shouldn’t do because of Him; or thank Him for another day and all His blessings; or even just take a moment to tell Him good night; when we do all those things, we are acknowledging Him- treating Him like a real person at our side.
This is intimacy with God; not recognizing that He is real, but rather recognizing our love for Him is real. A love manifested with real words and actions on a day-to-day basis. When we treat God this way, we get closer and closer to Him and His purpose in our lives becomes clearer and clearer. That is because we have been able to systematically remove the “beam” that had been in our eye obscuring our vision. By devotedly following Christ, His humility and objectivity more and more take over our perspective and enable us to better help others.
By achieving this level of authentic, interactive faith, we can legitimately approach our loved ones, as led by the Spirit, and help them to also reach an interactive state in their own relationship with God. We can help those we love to be with us in Paradise, but only if our walk with Jesus has evolved to the point where we walk with Him, versus He with us. And that takes more than just believing in Him and His sacrifice. It takes repentance and developing a personal, interactive partnership with the Lord.
What’s more, that partnership with God opens the door to new abilities, enhanced gifts, keener insights and tangible rewards, both here on Earth as well as in the Kingdom to come. Embracing all this is a beautiful thing and enables us to do good works in Jesus’ Name. Now, while our works can do nothing for our salvation it is true, they will have much to do with our reward in Heaven, including the types of experiences and relationships we will have there. The Bible notes the twelve apostles will sit in special seats of honor as theirs was an exceedingly effective carriage of faith, laying the foundation of the Church. And in that same way, we will all have places prepared for us in Heaven aligned with the way in which we served the Lord and lived our lives.
No matter what fleeting pleasures sin may afford for a time in this world, they pale in comparison to the least of the lasting pleasures awaiting us in Heaven. So, in a strictly pragmatic sense, why settle for the shadow pleasures of Earth (attached to death, no less!) when one can hold out for substantial pleasures in Heaven that are exceedingly better? It can be an incredible source of strength and hope to keep in mind the wonders that await us in Paradise. As Paul said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” -Romans 8:18
While one can generalize about Heaven, and surely it will be much different and more amazing than we can ever imagine, we do have an opportunity to enhance our joy and help those we love to be able to share in it with us. If we have stagnated in our faith, the times are calling us now to come alive in faith and open ourselves to the daily effect of the Spirit in our lives. This is mature Christianity at work, and it awaits all Believers. It is an exciting and wondrous thing to experience life as a journey with the Creator of the Universe at your side calling the shots. He takes us to amazing places we never would have found on our own and gets us through the rough patches better off for the wear.
Most importantly, our intimacy with God prepares us for His return. As mature Christians, we are called not just to live Godly lives, but to also keep vigil for Christ’s Second Coming. Every generation owes it to their brothers and sisters to be alert as Watchmen for their times and today is no different. In fact, the way things are in the twenty-first century, we may not have much time left to get our houses in order, let alone help the ones we love to do the same. However, all it takes to begin is to acknowledge Jesus as Lord of your life, as well as being your Personal Savior. He is after all, Lord & Savior and should be treated as both.
Having Christ as Lord of your life is not so much a matter of following a script of actions and behaviors, so much as it is reporting for duty each day and fluidly accepting the orders of the moment that God has for you. This requires communication capabilities with God inherent in an intimate relationship as a mature Christian. All Believers should be making the pilgrimage to a more intimate relationship with God. After all, our life on Earth is not much more than a journey and doesn’t that make the destination the point?
Let’s keep our sights set on the life to come and live for that day when Christ brings His Kingdom of Light. Let’s seek God and His Holiness by living for Him rather than for ourselves. Let’s actively seek His Will in our lives, not just in the big matters, but in the little day-to-day moments as well. Let’s actively work to remove any stumbling blocks that keep us from a more intimate relationship with God. Let’s heed the signs of the times that we may prepare accordingly for what is to come. And let us reach out to our loved ones with the hope we have found in Christ; not as infants in Spirit merely trusting in His plan, but as mature Christian Warriors involved in His plan, working it in the field. Our King returns soon; are your lamps lit and full? How about the lamps of those that you love?
Spirit Quest Garden 