“For the Lord is righteous;
He loves righteous deeds;
The upright shall behold his face”
Psalm 11:7
Do you know people who seem to have a more intimate relationship with God? They use different words to describe how he loves them and how they love him. They talk about spending time “with” God. Hearing about these intimate encounters with God, perhaps you have sought that kind of intimacy “with” him yourself. In your efforts to be with God you set aside time in your day to read your Bible. You may set your alarm clock a few minutes earlier to pray. In the end, though, you feel as if you are striving for the impossible, or at least the intangible. You cannot see God. You do not hear him. You feel no touch from him.
You are not alone. I have had the same experience. Many Christians feel that experiencing closeness to God is something that we will never know in a tangible way this side of heaven. I have always taken verses from the Bible, like the above verse from Psalm 11, to mean that one day we will “behold his face” in heaven. It is true that we will one day see God. It is true that we will experience him in ways never imagined when we get to heaven. But it does not mean that we are left to walk only by faith believing that God is real even though we do not experience him.
“Whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.” (1 John 2:5)
John, in a letter written to Christians, showed us the pathway to greater intimacy with God. It is by keeping his word. Obedience will foster, grow, and even “perfect” our love relationship with God.
John was merely passing on to others what he had been told by Jesus: “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21)
Jesus said this to his eleven closest followers. They loved him. They had left their lives behind to follow him. He was inviting them to demonstrate their love for him by obeying him. The result would be that Jesus would disclose himself to them. Interesting. He was sitting right there in front of them. The promise is that our obedience to Christ will result in a deeper, richer relationship with him.
A chapter later Jesus invited these close followers to “abide” in him (John 15:4). By inviting them to abide in him Jesus was not inviting them into a relationship with him. They already had that. These verses and promises are for those who already have a relationship with Jesus. They are for Christians. This is an invitation for those who already know God to know him more deeply. It is an invitation to be close to God.
He told them that they could not do anything without Jesus. There is no secret formula to abiding in Christ. We somehow think that we have to muster up some kind of connectedness to Christ in order to abide in him. The simple formula is to obey. The fact that we cannot do anything without Jesus is simply stating that we cannot bear any good fruit without obeying him. By obeying we are abiding. By abiding we will know him deeply. It begins with obedience. The result is more than good works. The result is that Jesus will disclose himself to us. That, my friends, is being close to God.
Memory Verse: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
