Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Intimacy vs. Familiarity

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27


Who's your Daddy?  Do you know?  I'm not talking about your earthly one, but your heavenly Father.  I know there are some people who don't know anything about their earthly Dad's for many different reasons, but if you had the opportunity to know them you wouldn't pass that up.  So why in the world would we not want to take the time to get to know our heavenly Father?  He's the reason that we were created in the first place.  To glorify Him is our purpose for living.  How can you glorify someone you do not know?

We started our new bible study Monday night and some of the things that Priscilla brought out were so eye opening.  We wonder why we don't hear the voice of God.  One hindrance she mentioned was whether or not we wanted an intimate relationship with our Father or a familiar one.  Most people are familiar with God.  They know who He is.  The acknowledge that He is there, but the majority of people don't know Him.  They don't get into His word and spend time with Him.  They don't take ten minutes out of their day to seek His presence.  We don't make the effort to get to know Him.  We don't know when we hear His voice because we don't recognize Him talking to us!

I have to confess that I am guilty of this, not seeking Him diligently, but just brushing against intimacy with Him.  That is not how I want to live my Christian life.  I want to know His voice like the sheep know their shepherd.  I want to know He's talking to me because I've spent the time to cultivate a relationship with Him, not just a passing familiarity.  What about you?  Let's take the time to get to Him in an intimate way.   

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Love your title! Are we just familiar with God or are we intimate with Him? I want to live in intimacy with God, but I know I'm not always there. I want to press in closer and closer to Him.
I'm excited to hear more about this new Bible study. :)

Eileen said...

I did this Priscilla Shirer study! It's very good.

Phather Phil Malmstrom said...

What a wonderful point Allison. I know many people that are familiar with God, but the difference between that and and a true intimate relationship with Him is huge! The more time I spend seeking His Presence, the more complete I become and the more I crave that deeper bond.

Have a Blessed Day!

Kelli said...

I've missed you this week! When I think of hearing God's voice, I think of all the times I did all the talking. I prayed but didn't pause to give Him time to talk. When that changed, I began hearing Him for the first time! It only takes one special moment of feeling His breath on yours and you know what hearing him is like and you never forget it!:) Great post!