Living Successfully - God's Way!نموونە

Get Up Close and Personal with God

Back in the day when I was growing up, you’d hardly hear the terms ‘God’ and ‘intimacy’ in the same sentence. It seemed to be solely reserved for relationships, primarily the marital kind.

In more recent years, though, we’ve come to understand that intimacy originated from God Himself. The marital relationship was just a reflection of it.

Imagine: The God of the universe, who could have chosen anyone to have an intimate relationship with, chose you and me! It’s no wonder that the psalmist, filled with awe and wonder, said, “Who is man that You are so mindful of him” (Psalm 8:4)

So what is intimacy? Let’s start from there.

I like to keep things simple whenever I can, so “intimacy” means “closeness”— but of a deeper kind.

Some versions of the bible even supply us with another word which I believe further helps our understanding. It’s the word ‘knew’ as in “Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived…” (Gen 4:1). I don’t think I need to explain what the KJV bible meant by ‘knew’ as you can see it led to the conception of a child.

When you think of the word intimacy, think closeness, familiarity, friendship, knowing - but all amplified. This is the kind of relationship we’ve been called to have with God. Here are a few more imageries I hope will help:

• Think of Abraham, who God Himself called a friend (Isaiah 41:8). How amazing is it that God calls us friends?
• Think of David, who the bible describes as a ‘man after God’s own heart’ (1 Sam 13:14)’; and
• Think of Jesus when He walked the earth. In describing his relationship with the father, He said: the Father and I are one (John 10:30), which speaks of unity.

Are you on an intimate level with God? What is God’s testimony of His relationship with you?

It is time to get up close and personal with God.