Closeness to God

I recently reconnected with my best friend from high school years. We met to attend a funeral together on a rainy day in Virginia Beach. Over the last 43 years of my married life, I have only seen my friend maybe 5 times – one or two times when she came to visit me, one time at her dad’s memorial service, one time when I stopped by her workplace, and then this recent funeral.

What struck me about our catching up was that it seemed that no time had passed. We tried to fill in the high school and college memory blanks for each other, but the substance of “real knowing” was still there after all these cumulative years (50 years since high school days). The humor, the lack of pretense, the ease of conversation, and the familiarity were still intact.

God creates intimacy with us by the way He treats us. We may move into or out of fellowship with Him, but when we return to Him, we find that “real knowing” is still there. Isaiah 42:3 (ESV) says, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench; He will faithfully bring forth justice.” In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus tells us, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Intimacy with God is a completed circle when we move into fellowship, just like reconnecting with an old and true friend. When we know Him and experience the way He treats us in reality and according to His Word, we find real mercy, grace, slowness to anger, steadfast love and faithfulness. There will be smiles of the heart. There won’t be any pretending. There will be non-obstructed communication. There will be intimacy. There will be rest.

God’s Spirit works to bring us into His precious fellowship. The Gospel lets us know that He will treat us better than we deserve, more lovingly that do our earthly friends, more patiently than our repeated failures should allow, and more gently than are our inept attempts at friendship.

Thank you KP for the reminder of what closeness looks like! Smiles of the heart and no pretense.

Photo Credit: Kim Clayton Lance