Free to Enjoy Intimacy with God

   Having been married now for 29 years, I am enjoying some of the best intimacy ever with my wife. In the movie, "Avatar", the people from that planet had a phrase which wonderfully describes what intimacy means. That phrase translated into English is "I see you". It means "When I look at you I see the love, the feelings, all that you are and all that you are to me by just being you. We are connected on the deepest level". For us to have an "I see you" relationship in marriage or with God, barriers must obviously come down.

   One of those barriers for me was criticism. This arose in me from my childhood interactions with my dad and my misconceptions of my Heavenly Dad. I thought God related to me in an accepting or critical way depending on my obedience to Him. Erroneously perceiving that God was critical towards me, I also treated others with criticism.

   This barrier began to crumble in me as God orchestrated circumstances allowing me to fail as a husband, a pastor and a Christ follower. He was jealous for intimacy with me but I could not experience it unless I learned to depend on His Son in me rather than myself. My inability to find intimacy my way was actually my pathway to this deeper intimacy. When I could not find it anywhere else, regardless of how hard I tried, God let me know that He unconditionally accepted me. It was God saying, "I see you". Only then did I begin to experience the kind of intimacy I had always longed for.

   In the same way, the barriers between us and our Heavenly Father had to be removed so we could enjoy Him and for Him to be able to enjoy us. A better understanding of the Gospel can show us how He did just that. This can lead to a more heartfelt intimacy with God. For example, every ounce of anger God had towards ALL our past, present and future sins were removed through the death of Christ on the cross. (1 John 2:1) He will never be angry with any of us who are in Christ. Another barrier God removed was our old nature, otherwise known as our identity in Adam. God crucified and buried that nature forever. (Romans 6:6) Then He resurrected us with Christ giving us a new nature, that is our new identity which is 100% acceptable to Him. (Romans 5:1)

   When God looks at us, He sees us as totally forgiven, 100% righteous sons and daughters whom He is completely enthralled with. He has united Himself to us offering the maximum intimacy possible. We can't get any closer to God than being united to Him. The good news of the Gospel is that our sins cannot sever this intimate union of Him in us and us in Him.

   Do you see the doorway for genuine intimacy whether between a husband and wife or between us and God? It is being united to someone who unconditionally accepts us. This is the good news of the Gospel which God wishes all Christ followers knew.

   That is why we are so passionate at Grace Life International to keep sharing the Gospel with other Christians. And I'm sure you are too! Let's all pray for God-given opportunities to share so other Christ followers can know that they are free to enjoy intimacy with God.

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Do You Enjoy God?

Enjoying God is a foreign concept to many Christians. Asked to describe their relationship with God, few would use the word "enjoy".  A famous statement tells us that our purpose in life is to "glorify God and enjoy Him forever". We have probably been taught many times about glorifying God which is absolutely true but what about enjoying God. Be honest, do you enjoy God?  Is the word "enjoy" one that you would use regarding you and God?

It is fascinating the way that Jesus taught us how to pray in what we usually term the Lord's Prayer. By the way, I don't think His intent was for us to simply recite this prayer. It is a guide, almost an outline that we pray through the lens of grace. He begins the prayer with this opening, "Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be your name". It was only a few years ago that I realized the significance of beginning our prayers to God in this way.  Here is what I mean.

"Our Father" speaks of the close relationship we can experience with God when we understand the transformative gospel of grace. Many Christians perceive that God is like some other significant person in their lives such as a dad or mom. Those who experienced a close relationship with that person do not have a lot of difficulty relating to God in a positive way as their Father.  Those who experienced a distant or painful relationship with that person often relate to God as their Father in negative ways. The transformative gospel of grace can change that incorrect concept of God so we can actually enjoy God. We see it all of the time in our ministry.

"Hallowed be your name" speaks of the transcendence of God.  Don't be scared away by that word. It communicates to us that God is our Creator.  He is holy. He is awesome. He is eternal.  He needs no one.  He is God and we are not! This leads us into a place of a proper fear of God, worshipping Him for who He is. Don't get sidetracked here with the word "fear". It does not mean that we are afraid of Him and His discipline for our sins. This fear is a deep reverence and awe for God. As we recognize the truth of Who God is, it sometimes puts us on our knees or on our faces and we say, "Wow!" There is great enjoyment in worshiping Him as God.

We can enjoy God the most, when we relate to Him as our loving close Father and our awesome Creator God. We can get out of balance if we emphasize one over the other.

So do you enjoy God? If not, ask Him to correct your erroneous view of Him as your Father and as your great God.

Until next time, remember, He loves us!

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder GraceLifeInternational.com