I Am With God!

    How often have you been asked “Have you a personal relationship with God?” 

I am fifty-plus years of age.  I can not count how many times I have been asked that question and have felt dumbfounded that anyone would ask such of another person. For I have never felt abandoned or left alone by God.  I have always felt a closeness, an intimacy with The One (God) in both good and bad times.

I am not quite sure how others hear or read those words.  I often wonder if they are read as if to be arrogant, conceited, egotistical, or self-centered.  I rarely choose to make much of my relationship with God because I see no reason to personally egocentrically profit from something  that has left me with so much spiritual/physical/emotional richness from the very beginning.

If I do make much of it, I do so to leave behind a message of EveryOne having the capacity to share in an unmatched spiritually rich love from The One (God) in you and I.

I am often intrigued by the response I get from those who claim to have a personal relationship with God…BUT, are unwilling to actually say “I am with God!”  They  tend to quote a biblical verse here and there where The Father claims to “be with you always.”  However, taking ownership in the relationship “to be with God” never seems to happen.

I think there is a line….no a fence…no a wall…no an ocean of their own percieved guilt, shame, and sin that stands so intimidating before their mind’s eyes it tends to convince them that taking ownership in a relationship WITH God would seem disingenuous or…at least dishonest.

For God’s Sake….its The One (God) we are speaking about here folks.  An unconditional love is waiting for you to accept as yours, understand as free, and appreciate as always available for your use.  It sits at the very tip of your nose and as close as your next breath for you to see.

I recently had the opportunity to read a very good blog entry about spiritual intimacy.  Lori writes at the outset…”Let me just say at the very beginning that in my opinion intimacy with God is not a very nice addition to the Christian life…  (Rather)*… it is the very definition of salvation!”

For those of you who want to experience a more satisfying life….You must try to understand her message (and mine as well).  Taking ownership of a relationship WITH God is laying claim to a life that is free from all the pain generated by those silly versions or visions for how you THINK love is suppose to work.  You open your Self up to appreciating how real happiness is not only possible, but, easy to possess.

Let’s take Jesus’ journey through the desert. All those temptations he with which he had been faced.  Each time Jesus is faced with a temptation he makes one simple claim each and everytime.  It may have been with different words…BUT, he lays claim to having a friendship WITH God that is unerring and unbending.

Some, I would imagine, will read my take on Jesus’ responses and assert….”Well…that was Jesus!  He was the Son of God.  He had a will that was much stronger than ours.”  To that response I would refer them to read the final conversation Jesus has (before the Ascension) with Phillip in the Gospel of John.

The apostle wants to know how he can go to the place where Jesus says he can not go at this time.  Jesus, always the teacher, walks Phillip through the basic steps of the core messages of his teachings…and he concludes with “you will accomplish miracles as great and even greater than mine.”

I contend this part of the Synoptic Gospels is the centerpiece for how truly close is the relationship we have with The Father.  The writers of John’s Gospel, in their reflections upon the meaning of Jesus’ life made a stark discovery.  Not only was God an active participant in their life.  They too could be a reciprocating force for acknowledging this relationship by denying their afflictions as a force that defines them and leads them…They could actually pick up their matts and genuinely claim to walk with God at their side.

If you do not believe me….read what Lori said in her latest posting about spiritual intimacy…”The more you seek Him for Him alone, the more you learn His ways and His will!

“I always thought doing God’s will meant closing all doors that might be “iffy” and hanging out in one or two “safe” rooms.  But,  the closer I get to God the more He kicks open every door in the room and even gives me tiny pushes in directions I would never have considered.”

WE, each of us, has an opportunity we wish to come true.  BUT, wishing is simply fantascizing something from nothing.  A real miracle happens when we becoming WILLING to participate in our lives.  A real moment of happiness occurs when we choose to say “There must be a better way of living my life!” genuinely seeking to know how real life works.

Finally, choosing to lay claim to being WITH God eliminates the attention we have paid for centuries to the outcomes of our stupidity and willingness to be ignorant.  We NOW have a connection right now with knowing what makes other people say and do the things they do.

Once more I love what Lori offers….”The more intimate I am able to get with God the more I feel I am able to connect with others. 

“I don’t think there is a greater longing or need in our world today than honest, intimate connection to others.    If we can learn this act from God, how to be “one” with Him and then perhaps with each other we will not only fulfill our own needs and destiny,  but, we will prove ourselves to be real, authentic children of God!”

This is the essence of spiritual intimacy…….

“You ARE loved….and Loved RIGHT NOW!”

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~ by anglhugnu2 on September 11, 2010.