Relating

by Lane Freemyer (welcome to the blog Lane)

Sometimes I get frustrated that my feeling of intimacy with Christ is so lacking.  Prayer feels more like talking to myself than to someone else.  The Bible seems more like a book of philosophy than the living Word of God.  I suppose I want a relationship with Christ that is as visceral as the one I have with anyone else- actual sensory interaction.  But I don’t get to have that.  In his wisdom, God has set this life up a certain way, and since he is infinitely wise, I acknowledge that his way is better.  I’m not trying, consciously at least, to dictate to God how we communicate.  But it is hard to reconcile my concept of relationship and intimacy in relationship with the way we interact with God.  Scripture has quite a bit to say about the relationship between God and man, and examining what it says about the ways we interact with Him breaks down the misconceptions that stand between us and a more constant and intimate communion with Him.

In John 16, Jesus tells the disciples that he is going away, and when he does he will send the Holy Spirit to them.  And Jesus tells the disciples it is for their good that he goes.  Another translation says it is to the disciples’ advantage.  Jesus, the very Son of God, tells his most intimate friends that they are better off if he goes away!  The Holy Spirit in us is better than walking around with Jesus himself, according to Jesus.  It makes sense when you think about it.  The Spirit is inside us, guiding us into all truth.  Our very thoughts are inspired and directed by God.  God dwelling in us is a better situation than any other, even the face time with Christ the disciples experienced.  Acts shows us this in the lives of Peter and company- the same guys who spent most of their pre-Pentecost lives misinterpreting Jesus’ parables were astonishing the lifelong scholars with wisdom and power after the Spirit filled them.

John 16:14 says the Spirit will bring glory to Christ and reveal truth to us.  So the Spirit seeks to glorify God by helping us understand Him.  The Spirit supernaturally enables our understanding, and without the Spirit we cannot hope to understand what God has to say to us.  2 Corinthians 16-17 says that the veil, or the dullness of our minds, is taken away when we turn to the Lord, who is the Spirit.  John 16 further says that the Spirit will take of what is Christ’s and make it known to us.  And what is Christ’s, but the Gospel message?  The Spirit, then, reveals to us the Gospel- the message of Jesus, our redemption and salvation through His sacrifice and resurrection.  And the Gospel will change us into people who exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, listed in Gal 6:22- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

If my life doesn’t look like this, then someone- the Spirit or me- is not holding up their end of the bargain.  And because He is who He is, and I am who I am, I suspect it is me.  Romans 8:5 says that those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  That is a directive to us for action- to set our minds on what the Spirit desires.  The Spirit desires God’s glory and truth to be known.  So our minds should be on God’s glory and truth.  That is a great idea.  I think everyone would agree with that.  Let’s take it one step further and talk action.  What is my end of the ‘bargain’ mentioned earlier?  What is it that I should be doing and am not, or shouldn’t be doing but am anyway?  The answer to these questions can be found in part by looking again at what the original Spirit-filled Christians spent their time doing.  Acts 2 tells us the believers were in fellowship, learning, eating together, praying and praising God, serving each other and the community.  Community.  Study.  More community.  Prayer, worship, service.  In community.  And through it all, love for Christ and each other.  This is getting down to the brass tacks of Christian existence, what we do on a day to day basis, our ‘end of the bargain’ for getting from where we are to where God wants us to be.  And though we find in this life the fullest expression of our existence, we do not do these things for their own sake, or even for our sake.  We do them, in partnership with the Spirit, for the glory of God.

Wrestling with these questions doesn’t do much for the frustration I still have, other than shifting the blame for it firmly to myself and my own faithlessness.  But it does give me something to do.  Frustration with myself leads to conviction, which leads to repentance, which drives me to the cross again and the awe, gratitude and love I feel in that place.  And I never feel closer to God than when I’m standing there.  I still want it to be easy sometimes.  Isn’t it true, though, that the easy thing and the best thing are rarely the same thing?  Demanding easy is childish.  Recognizing that the wages justify the work, that the prize is worth the hard work required to attain it, is part of growing up.  Intimacy with Christ is perhaps the fullest expression of this idea- the ‘pearl of great price.’  In 1 Corinthians 13:11, Paul says, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”  I guess it’s time for me to do the same.

Comments

[Suzanne]

It was only a matter of time before you made the jump...nicely done, Lane. Thanks for letting us in on what you're wrestling with. It was especially relevant to me since I "just happened" to be camping out in John 16 the last couple days and wrestling a bit myself, so I really appreciated your thoughts.

[Scott-Y]

Several points of encouragement:
1. This desire for intimacy is itself a sign of the Holy Spirit's activity in you.
2. Our intimacy with God grows as we advance in sanctification.
3. God has designed the hunger and zeal you describe to spur us on in sanctification.
4. God does not focus on our lack of attainment, but loves us right now in spite of it (Rom 5.8). There's refreshment in that despite the imperfection we experience now. That HE LOVES US is a greater reality than our lack of love in return.
5. You might like Michael Horton's article "Wanted: Apathetic Lutherans and Calvinists" at http://theresurgence.com/theology/systematic_categories/trinity

[Scott-Y]

Ignore the above URL. A better, more direct link to Michael Horton's article about the Holy Spirit and our experience is:
http://theresurgence.com/files/pdf/michael_horton_1994-04_wanted--apathetic_lutherans_and_calvinists.pdf