Intimacy with God
Having intimacy with God means having a deep connection and relationship with Him. It means we’re close to Him. James 4:8 says: ‘Come near to God, and God will come near to you’ (NCV). God doesn’t force this connection with us, it’s up to us to come close to Him. He’s waiting and inviting us to come, but we have to make the decision to repent of our sin and draw close to Him. We have to choose to obey and follow Him. We have to choose to accept God’s love for us, and stay in that love. Jesus said: ‘I loved you as the Father loved me. Now remain in my love.’ In this passage in John 15, Jesus uses the analogy of vines and branches to show how we should be connected to God. He said: ‘I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing’ (v. 5 NCV). To be fruitful in life, we need to be connected to God. We need to have an intimate relationship with Him. To truly be friends with someone, we have to be vulnerable and share things. We need regular communication and a desire to spend time with them. And it’s the same with our relationship with God. An intimate relationship with Him requires us to spend time with Him. He wants us to share the good and the bad with Him. There is nothing too big or too small to share with God. But we also need to listen. We need to practise hearing His voice, and ask Him to show us what’s on His heart so that it can be on our hearts too
