Intimacy with God

To understand the idea of us being intimate with God, we must first of all grasp something about God Himself: He is relational – defined by an internal relationship between the members of the Trinity. Before time began, Father, Son and Holy Spirit were together. From the very first chapters, the Bible portrays the Trinity working in unity completing creation, and later in the outworking of the redeeming plan.

Although  Deuteronomy 6:4 clearly tells us that God is one, we know that He is also three distinct persons. We can see this very clearly when Jesus is being baptized: The Father speaks confirmation over him – “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”, and the Holy Spirit comes down as a dove. Another fact we can glimpse out of this passage are some attributes of this relationship: love and affirmation.

Another dynamic in the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit is that they collaborate. Each person has a different role. The Father sent his son, the son came to do the Father’s will and performed the redemptive work – in other words, saved us, and the Father with the Son send the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us – makes us more like Jesus and able to do the Father’s will. They work together.

Another clue pointing to the fact that God is three person is that each of them also have their own will. In Luke 22:42, Jesus, just a few hours before his crucifixion, prays to God the Father ‘not my will be done but yours’. In Corinthians we read that the Holy Spirit gives his gifts to whomever he chooses. Although each of the three has a distinct will, they never disagree. They are always working together and are always in harmony. At the heart of the trinity are perfectly pure love, submissiveness, obedience and deep intimacy.

I don’t know if you have ever heard this one but sometimes people would say God created human beings because he was bored of being alone. But we know that before anything was created God the Father, God Son and God the Holy Spirit who are one – were self-sufficient in their relationship with each other – a relationship of love, fellowship, collaboration, harmony and deep and bottomless unity  and intimacy– too perfect for us to fully grasp.

In His Image

When we look at human intimacy we have to understand our origin. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created us in his image. God who himself is love and exists in an intimate relationship within the Trinity creates beings, personalities that have that same relational DNA. Beings that long for love, fellowship, partnership, harmony and intimacy.

We are not only created to live in relationship with others but God also and most importantly created us to have an intimate relationship with Him. It is our Creator, the Creator of the universe, it is the Christ who gave Himself entirely for us, for you, who invites and pursues you and woos you to enter into that intimacy with Him.

Definitions of Intimacy:

“Warm close personal friendship”, “A feeling or atmosphere of closeness and openness towards someone else, not necessarily involving sexuality.”

“Intimacy is linked with feelings of closeness, safety, trust and transparency among partners in a collaborative relationship”

“For intimacy to be sustainable and nourishing it also requires trust, transparency and rituals of connection. It is possible to compete over intimacy, but that is likely to be self-defeating. Intimacy requires empathy – the ability to stand in the other’s shoes. Intimacy is both the ability and the choice to be close, loving and vulnerable.”

Invitations

When we look at the Bible, many stories of individuals start with God uttering an invitation into a covenant with Him. To Abraham he said ‘“Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bess you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.” So Abram left, as the Lord told him.’ One chapter later it is God again who approaches Moses and says to him “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” God invites Abraham into a relationship and it is God who establishes the covenant which is to last for the generation to come.

In the story of Moses again, God is the initiator in the relationship. He entices Moses to get closer to Him through the burning bush were He then reveals him his purpose and sends him out to deliver the Hebrews out of Egypt. God again takes the first step.

Jesus Himself said,

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (John 6:44) and “No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Luke 10:22).

The verse of this old hymn reminds us:

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me.
It was not I that found, O Savior true;
No, I was found of Thee.
  

The word “prevenient” is often used of God. It means “coming before, preceding”: “the One who goes before, working in grace so we can respond; the One who draws us so that we will seek Him; the One who reveals Himself”.

It is always God who initiates a relationship. The Holy Spirit draws us in into a revelation of who God is, His heart cry being that would be intimate with Him, feel closeness, safety, trust and be transparent towards Him, that we would collaborate with Him and that we would discover new depth and new realities of His character.

Being Intimate with God

One of definitions above reads: Intimacy is both the ability and the choice to be close. If intimacy is a choice, it means we have to respond to the invitation. Let’s look at ways to respond, ways into intimacy with God.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul says "Pray without ceasing." Being intimate with God means being in constant conversation with Him throughout the day. Of course it doesn’t mean praying out loud all day long. I believe it means being aware of God’s presence all the time and inviting Him into any situation. One of my friends said she  finds it difficult to be aware of God’s presence at work. We can all relate. Sometimes it seems so much easier to compartmentalize our lives into some areas where we are Christians and some areas were we aren’t. There are some areas in life where it can seem like God just doesn’t fit in. In our work place we might not be allowed to speak about God with clients and sharing our faith with our non-Christian friends and family is often challenging. It’s easy to adapt to their world and blank God out. But being intimate with God means inwardly praying “I’m yours” “Remain with me”, “You’re here” “Help!” “touch them”…

Intimacy with God also means meditating on Him. One guy once said when you think about problems you worry, when you think about God you meditate. Meditating in a Christian sense doesn’t mean you empty your mind of everything. Philipians 4:8 says “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Thinking on one bit of scripture and letting God speak to you – that’s meditation. We often think that to hear God clearly we must to read as many chapters in the Bible as possible. But the times when God speaks most clearly and deeply are sometimes those when we allow ourselves to read, reread and ponder on one passage for months.    

Intimacy requires honesty. Being intimate with God is being honest with Him. It means to stop pretending we are self-sufficient and letting Him take down our walls of pride. I was reading a marriage book some time ago and it was suggesting that there are 5 different levels of verbal communication within a marriage, the fifth one being the deepest. In order to achieve that fifth level, it suggested, you had to know that your spouse’ love for was unconditional, that they accepted you as aou were and only wanted the best for you. I believe it is the same with God. When we know that we are accepted by God because of what Jesus did, we can be honest with God and share our deepest thoughts with Him. Psalm 139  reads “Search me Oh God and know my heart..”

Being intimate with God means to seek what is on His heart, valuing the things He values. Investing in what He values. I heard the phrase “singing of the same hymn sheet” this week in a meeting. When you hear an expression in a language that is not your mother tongue, you often give the words their literal meaning first before ascribing a figurative meaning to them. When I heard this saying I pictured the two man who were speaking singing different songs at once, then realizing they needed to synchronize. Being intimate with God means singing of the same hymn sheet as Him. For example, in proverbs it says “Different weights are an abomination to the Lord, and false scale is not good” – so we will be fair in our tradings. Jesus valued praying alone so I will learn to do it, he also valued times of fellowship and so I will seek them. He valued compassion so I will try to be compassionate.

Time to Grow Close

The biggest obstacle to intimacy with God is business in our lives and the inability to do as it says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”

A.W Tozer  who wrote about the Christian life 60 years ago he wrote,

A generation of Christians reared among push-buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.

The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit. These and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul. (p. 66)

This was 60 years when people had 2 channels on their TVs. We want instant connection with God but friendships need time to develop. Nothing of lasting value is instant. ‘Wait’, ‘be still’, and ‘quiet’ are words we often find in the Bible in the context of finding God.

Be encouraged by the words of this hymn 

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word…
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

The Female Face of Poverty

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. After granting shape, life and rhythm to a formless naught, he gazed upon his creation and saw that it was good. Then, God, as an artist sets his signature on the finished canvas, decided to crown his work with his last creation, a being endowed with untouchable sacredness, with his very own image. He created human beings, male and female he created them, so that they would rule over the earth in perfect unity with him as well as with each other…

As part of my studies in Theology, I went on placement during which I hoped to learn about working with women in a church setting. It was here that a small prayer diary was given to me. After chatting to the pastor for while, she took out the booklet and said: “Sarah, read this. This is what women’s ministry is all about.” As she left, I flicked through the pages. The beautiful, staring eyes of women from different parts of the world invited me to share in their stories and pray. Turning to the foreword I read:

“A few years ago, I was asked the question, ‘What will be the greatest global challenge as we enter the 21st Century?’ You may think of war, terrorism, famine, AIDS and a number of other colossal needs, which all surely qualify. But among the most serious issues is gender injustice – the abuse and suppression of women. Why? Because it is the biggest, most far reaching, and most hidden.”  - Loren Cunningham


My later studies of sociology allowed me to study gender inequality more deeply. Although I spent a few months researching the issue, I know I have only scratched the surface of the topic and have discovered only a small fragment of the injustice women experience all over the world. Reading about different situations was heartbreaking. Only reluctantly do I imagine what it would be like to really experience such injustice and 

suffering – apparently, just because God had chosen to make me a woman.

As it is estimated today that two thirds of all poor people on the face of the earth are women, experts often say that poverty has a female face. Although it is not very hard to believe this about distant and less developed countries, I find it shocking that the quota is just about the same in our “civilized” countries. The high number of poor women is intrinsically linked with the changes our societies have undergone during the last decades.  The traditional concept of family and marriage has been undermined and to grow up with both parents is not necessarily the norm any longer. In fact, the fastest growing type of family in Western countries is the single parent family. This is, according to specialists, one reason why women are increasingly affected by poverty. 

In split families, it is usually the woman who will receive custody of the children. Bearing in mind that women generally earn less than men, it is understandable that assuming both custodial and economic responsibility for them can be burdensome. Thus, many women living in this situation struggle to make ends meet. As a specialist once said, “for men, a job is often an effective remedy for poverty, while women are often poor even when working full-time.”

In other parts of the world, women face different kinds of poverty.  In too many societies, giving birth to girls is still a great disappointment or even a curse to which the only remedy seems to be infanticide. Such gender biases have immense repercussion on the well-being of societies. In India alone, it is estimated that 1 million women are ‘missing’ because of gender biases: Baby girls are too often aborted, and those who outlive birth will probably have an inauspicious position in their family, meaning that boys will be favoured concerning basic child care and nutrition, leading to higher death rates for little girls than little boys. Girls will also attend school for a shorter time than their brothers (if at all), as they will have to be prepared for marriage from an early age. Their lack of education robs them of any life chances, rights to make decisions on their own or of any aspiration to change their fate.

The fact that women play an essential role in the well-being of communities is not a particularly recent discovery within development studies. However, the third Millennium goal has drawn attention to the importance of women in development, stating that they must be released and empowered in order to alleviate poverty and raise living standards.  

Anyone using their common sense would agree that the situation of oppressed women has to improve, begging the question why the completion of this mission is taking so long. My guess is that this has to do with the fact that such changes would clash with hundreds of years old traditions and mindsets that now seem unshakable. For millions of women, female circumcision, poverty, forced prostitution and other forms of inequality are simply the reality of daily life.

I wonder if there are such seemingly unshakable mindsets regarding gender biases in our churches today. If experts assert that women’s involvement in society is key to the well-being of a country, could it be the same for the church? Is it possible that for centuries the church has only been living up to half of its potential? If God designed a man and a woman as the foundation for humanity, with a task surpassing mere marriage, that of ruling over the earth, maybe the world would function better with man and women ruling together. Could this maybe also be true for the church?

Global village

I had seen world maps a thousand times before. The shapes and shades were familiar to me, as I had tried to memorize capitals, poked pins in all the countries I had visited, or marked countries I had prayed for. This time, however, as I stood in the prayer room of Regents College, staring at the massive world map, I had the impression to look at a different, new world: every country connected to each other, many poor ones dependent on a few rich ones, the world’s  wealth accumulated in tiny parts, large continents left destitute. In some parts, lives lived blind to the other’s fate. In other parts, lives not worth being called lived.

Having studied about God’s goodness, love and hunger for justice for three years, then to immerse myself in discussion and research about the order of the world and its “playing rules” within further studies in sociology has felt like a kick in the teeth. The present world order somehow reminds me of a scenario we have probably all experienced: a group of children interacting with each other and the bully enforcing and bending the rules of the game in order to suit him. What a relief to see the well-intending teacher approaching and demanding fairness from the tyrant! Alas, there is no such relief to be seen in the world of economics. Some might have hoped the financial crisis would have been enough of a warning, but there is still no sign of repentance for greed.

The values within the current neo-liberal system are completely different to those we believe in as Christians. Efficiency and profit hold the absolute highest priority. Injustice and exploitation, it seems, are merely a price many are willing to pay for higher revenues. After decades of such neo-liberal capitalism, the globalized world hasn’t much improved. In our wealthy and powerful countries, inequality between rich and poor countries grew twofold between 1960 and 1990. In the last thirty years, both in the UK and US (the two countries which pursue neo-liberal policies most aggressively), both the percentage of people who earn less than half of the average income and the percentage of people who earn more than 200 times the average income, has grown significantly.

While the neo-liberal regime tries to integrate as many countries as possible into the global trading system, the result of restructurating often proves to be detrimental to the poorest and most vulnerable of societies. Although the economic journey of the Southern American country, Peru, is seen by some to be a structural adjustment success story, it is also a helpful example of how such structural adjustment can be detrimental to the poorest. In the summer of 1990, the newly elected Peruvian president, Fujimori, instituted IMF (International Monetary Fund)-style structural adjustments in an attempt to stabilize the Peruvian economy and stop inflation. For the population and especially the poor, consequences were shocking: petrol prices rose by 3,000%, electricity by 5,300%, and water and telephone by 1,300%. As food subsidies were withdrawn, the price of food increased extensively.  The price of bread, for example, increased by over 4,000%. All this happened simultaneously with a decline of over 50% in wages. As a result, by 1994, 59% of the Peruvian population was living in poverty.

Within neo-liberalist theory, the consumer (that’s us!) is the most important actor, as their choice concerning what they buy dictates what will be produced. This, I believe is truer than we sometimes realize. We are often unaware of the consequences of our daily decisions, especially regarding what products we purchase. I was so pleased the other day when I, a consumer, bargained for four weaved placemats. Back home, inspecting my purchase with contentment, I noticed a thick, long black hair trapped between the plaits. Quite disturbed, I realized that someone had actually made these placemats with their hands. I can only hope they were the hands of an adult with a fair income, although I think it is unlikely, taking into account the price I had paid for them.

Pondering about this experience, the scripture came to my mind in which a religious man asks Jesus what he needs to do in order to inherit eternal life (Luke 10). Answering his own question, he quotes Deuteronomy: love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and love your neighbour as yourself. To his next question, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus answers with the parable of the Good Samaritan. As I felt strangely close to the stranger who had made my placemats, I wondered if she was my neighbour. After all, I had bought something she had made. I had influenced her income in some way, maybe her way of life. Surely I have some responsibility towards people if what I buy influences their lives. As we live in this “global village”, although this lady lives thousands of miles away, I believe she is my neighbour, and that I have to love her, too.