Influencers Weekly Devotional

In To ME See by

Rocky Fleming

“From the Garden of Eden to the final judgment of the great white throne, human beings will continue to embrace the love of God as the gift of everything but Himself. Indeed there are ten thousand gifts that flow from the love of God. The gospel of Christ proclaims the news that He has purchased by His death ten thousand blessings for His bride. But none of these gifts will lead to final joy if they have not first led to God. And not one gospel blessing will be enjoyed by anyone for whom the gospel’s greatest gift was not the Lord Himself.” John Piper - God is the Gospel

If you’ve been around Influencers and our message, you have heard us say that our primary pursuit is to have an intimate, abiding relationship with Christ. Not all men readily embrace this thought, for it makes them uncomfortable. I have often asked a man why it makes him uncomfortable, and the consistent answer is that he thinks intimacy is having sexual relations with his wife. To make a point, I asked him to tell me how his wife would define intimacy, and better yet, hear it directly from her in her own words. She will likely say that intimacy with her husband is connecting with him on a deep emotional level where they look into their inner persons. It is when they share their joy, their pain and they really listen to each other. It is an act of processing into oneness, and this oneness leads to a beautiful expression. It is this definition that best describes what we mean when we use the term intimacy with Christ. As a side note concerning a husband and wife, if this conflict of understanding intimacy between them is not resolved, neither he nor she will come to understand and experience what true intimacy is. Guys do you and your wife a favor and understand that intimacy is not just sex. Trust me when I tell you that the best sex you will ever have comes from true intimacy, in most healthy situations. But, true intimacy is different from sex, for there are some couples unable to have sex but still enjoy intimacy. Intimacy is something that God has created for a man and woman to enjoy with each other, for we need it. But, our need for true intimacy with God is also a created need, and until we enter into it, we will miss what Piper says is God’s greatest gift to us, which is Himself. What does intimacy with Christ look like? The title tells it all. Intimacy means: “In To ME See.” The Bible tells us that God is All Knowing. He knows everything about us from the get-go, even though we have a hard time understanding how. What is missing is that we do not really know Him … intimately. We know of Him. We know what others have told us about Him. But, most believers do not really know Him. To do so we need to take the time to look into Him, and understand how He sees us. We might know His attributes, and have knowledge of the God Who revealed Himself in history. But, can we truly know Him on a personal, intimate level with only understanding Him this way? For example do we know Him as our best Friend? Do we know Him as our greatest Comforter? Do we know Him as our best Encourager? Do we know what He likes and dislikes, His joys and grief? Do we approach Him and know that we are welcome, or do we stand far away, fearing His disappointment in us? Do we ever ask Him what will give Him joy, rather than being consumed with getting happiness for ourselves from Him? What will it be like for us when we come into His heaven? Will we meet face-to-face the Christ we have only read about, or the Christ Who is a familiar Friend, Who we will then be able to physically see? I tell you, this kind of friendship with Christ will happen only as we get to know Him intimately, for it is in this place that we look into Him and see His heart, and His great love and acceptance of us. So, do not run from intimacy with Christ. Rather, run as fast as you can into it. I have found that God is willing to meet me in every place when I take a step toward Him. It was in His original creation of man that showed He wanted intimate fellowship with mankind. But, sin and separation from God destroyed this fellowship until Christ restored it. Christ restored it all. What Christ did for us has given us the privilege and birthright to not only have eternal life with Him, but to also come back to intimate fellowship with Him. The problem is many times we see ourselves only as adopted children who have been permitted to come into the family, but feel that full fellowship with the father is not permitted. Wrong!! This is wrong theology. Look what God says in His word about this: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of bloodnor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:11-13 Men, I challenge you to look closely at the words “he gave the right to become children of God,” and,“nor of the will of man, but of God.” In other words, God has given us the rights of son-ship, and it is His will and His will alone that has granted it. We are given the invitation and access to come as a son to his Daddy. In essence He says to us, “Come, and come all the way to ME.” So, are you willing to let a little thing such as having a misunderstanding of what intimacy with Christ means to stand in your way? God is telling you, “Look In To ME See.” If you will respond to His invitation, you will never look at yourself, others, and life the as you did before. Believe me. I have looked into Him, and I will never be the same.