Revelation 4:11
"You are worthy, our Lord and our God, to receive glory, and honor, and power; for it was you who created all things, and it was because of your will that they were, and they were created." (DRB)
Staying "connected" has become the great company of our culture. Smart phones, Facebook, Twitter and give us instant access to our friends, family, work and the world. But how much time do we spend actually building meaningful face-to-face relationships? And go a little further, how much effort do we invest in connecting with God?
What kind of relationship do you have with the Lord? Is he a distant God or your closest friend? One way or another, everyone has an association with Him, whether it's recognized or not. Even those who say they do not believe in God are related to him simply because He created them. Unfortunately, most people in this world have no idea who their Creator is.
I. CREATED FOR AN INTIMATE WITH GOD
Yet the Lord conceived humanity to be in relation to Him. That is why He created us in his image. We have received a spirit that can communicate with His Spirit. Just look at the earth and the heavens at thetop. Although God is the Creator of all these things, he can never interact with a mountain or a star as He does with you. There is no higher honor than He could have given us than to be made in His image.
But when sin entered human race, it made everyone spiritually dead and thus distant from God. Our spirits are no longer able to unite with the Lord in close communion. However, Jesus came to pay the penalty for sin with His death, and now all those who confide in Him as their Savior are spiritually born again. Their relationship with God has been restored by Christ.
Yet God does not want salvation to end our interaction with Him, on the contrary it is only the first step. If we communicate with Him only in terms of the surface, we are wrong and prevent the realization of the Lord's ultimate goal for us, an intimate relationship with Him. Although it is His desire for each of His children, many believers, unfortunately, do not live in the intimate communion he has made available to them.
Believers can be saved and have a distant relationship with the Lord. Some Christians show little interest in spiritual things and are not aware of the superficiality of their interactions with God. Others are confused and frustrated, wondering why they do not hear His voice or feel His presence. Even if they go to church, read their Bible and pray, it still seems far away and disconnected from them.
In recent years, the term "intimacy with God" has become one of those phrases that Christians use in their conversations, but how many of us really know what it means? If I asked you to describe it, could you? Part of the problem is that in our culture, the word intimacy has become synonymous with sex. But we are talking about a spiritual unity that is not based on the physical senses. God is Spirit and this is how we must relate to Him.
BIBLICAL REFERENCES
Genesis 1:26; Psalm 63:1-8; John 4:24; 14:23-26, 15:13-15; 17:3; Acts 13:22; 2 Corinthians 12:7-12; 2 Timotheus 1:12; 4:6-8; Philippians 3:7-14; Ephesians 2:1-5;
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