In modern Christianity, there is a great emphasis placed on what one believes. Most Christian organizations have a statement of belief that outlines the core beliefs that one must hold to be a part of the organization. This emphasis on our beliefs may cause us to be convinced that there is nothing more required, but that would be a grave error. Granted, we must all start with belief. We must believe that God exists. We must believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, suffered, died for our sins, and rose from the dead. However, this is just the very infancy of our faith. Consider this verse:
James 2:19 (NLT)
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.
It is quite an indictment that James is making, isn’t it? Just having belief in God is not much better than a demon-level existence. The sad truth is that many of us believe in a God that we have no real relationship with or maybe even any desire to be with.
What are your thoughts on a relational knowledge of God? Do you believe it is possible? How would you describe it? How do you work on it? When do you all meet? What do you all talk about?
Many Christians treat their relationship with God either as:
- Not a reality for today. Yes, people had encounters with God in the Bible, but that doesn’t happen now, at least not ordinarily. We have the Bible now, and that’s how we relate to God. We read the Bible and do what it says. God has already said all that He’s ever going to say – in the Bible.
- Or an assumed reality that happens without any tangible evidence that it’s happening. It is assumed that we are in relationship with God all the time without our conscious knowledge or attention.
I wish to propose that a conscious, experiential relationship with God is supposed to be the normal Christian life and that we are meant to do something to pursue that relationship. As God pursues us, we must also pursue Him. God promises that if we truly seek Him, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13, Matthew 7:7-8, Hebrews 11:6). This pursuit of God is the #1 responsibility and highest calling of the Christ-follower. At Authentic Joy, we use the following diagram to depict how we can grow in intimacy with God.
So how do we pursue a relationship with God? We must make a shift from academic/cognitive practices to more relational/heart practices. Consider how you get to know a person. We have been largely brought up on a diet of practices that focus on Bible study and one-way prayer. These are not bad. They are just insufficient. They do not teach us how to communicate with God in our heart. Would you invest in a relationship with a person by studying a book about them or talking to them non-stop without bothering to hear what they had to say? Of course not. So why do we think we can build a relationship with God that way? We have to learn new, more relational, ways of reading the Bible and praying. Ways that acknowledge the real presence of a God who wants to connect with us. We have already introduced one such practice – appreciation memories. We will introduce others in time.
For now, let’s start with an intimacy checkup:
- I have accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, but I cannot hear God for myself. I use my judgment, experience, and common sense most of the time. I rely on others such as my pastor/priest to give me direction for important decisions.
- I cannot hear God for myself. I study the Bible and apply the principles and values that I learn to my life. I also receive insights from the sermons at church or podcasts (or counsellors when needed) that help me to discern God’s will for my life.
- I struggle to get clear direction from God. I believe I can hear Him, but I don’t trust that it’s not just my own thoughts. I often have to receive a message through a scripture verse, multiple times through various different avenues, to be sure that it is from God.
- I don’t hear God’s voice (audibly or in my mind/heart), but I know God is speaking to me when ‘coincidences’ (God winks) happen, such as the pastor preaching on a situation that I faced this week. Or if, for example, I see the same phrase in a book, on TV, and on a street sign in the same week.
- Sometimes when listening to a sermon or reading the Bible, a phrase or word jumps out at me and burns in my heart in a way that I know in my spirit that God is speaking to me personally.
- If I go to the Bible for direction in my quiet time, I often feel that He highlights a passage to me. Sometimes I feel a sense of peace or disturbance in my spirit that lets me know if I am on the right or wrong path as I go about my business during the day.
- I often hear God clearly, but sometimes I’m still not sure if it’s just me. Occasionally, I have strong experiences of His presence or direction (maybe even through dreams or visions).
- I can get clear insight from God on any issue, but mainly in my quiet time with Him. I can hear Him through impressions, dreams, Bible verses, thoughts in my mind, or pictures in my mind. I know the main way that He usually speaks to me, and I can sense the peace or lack of peace of the Holy Spirit in my spirit as I navigate life.
- I can hear God clearly anywhere and anytime. I often experience His presence.
- I experience the uninterrupted presence of God throughout the day. I am in continual 2-way conversation with God throughout the day.
Intimacy with God is the most important element of the discipleship model. There is nothing more critical to your spiritual growth than pursuing a heart-to-heart relationship with God. It fuels everything else and is the most powerful catalyst of your spiritual maturity.
Yet, sadly, how to know God is rarely taught in our faith communities. (I use the word ‘taught’ loosely, as it is less about teaching and more about modelling, supporting and mentoring.) Getting to know God is very personal and practical. You can’t get it from reading a book. God’s relationship with someone will be very unique to them, but we can model what it looks like, encourage them, support them, and provide spiritual direction with the help of the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTION
- Thinking about belief in God versus relationship with God, what comes up for you?
- What came up for you based on your intimacy checkup?