ChristMyLife.org - We are never close to God

"We are never close to God", is an interesting and provocative statement, but is it true? I most certainly believe it is true of all followers of Jesus Christ. None has never been close to God.

How can I make such a bizarre claim? First, let's look at the concept of "close" or "closer". We speak of "close" in terms of physical proximity such as, "I live close to the market." When we are traveling to a city we would say we "closer" to our destination as we travel. We also use the term in relationships, for example, we would consider some of our friends "closer" than others. We would also speak of getting "close" to someone as we spend time with them through a shared experience. We can gauge the status of a relationship by the "closeness" we sense and feel. Over time the "closeness" of our relationships will vary based circumstances, but they also are very dependent on the time and effort we put into the relationship. In other words, the quality of a particular is largely a result of our priorities and actions, as well as the actions and priorities of those we are in relationship with.

Let's go back to my original statement: "We are never close to God". Isn't a close and deep fellowship with God something all believers should strive for and wish to have? If it is important to be "close" to those around us who we care about, how can this not be even more important in our relationship with God? And what's with this strange statement "we can never be close to God"?

He Lives Within Us

The answer is the simple and wonderful truth that our relationship with God is like no other relationship we will ever have with anyone else. We who have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ are restored to a perfect and unbroken fellowship with God. In this relationship like no other, God Himself lives in us. There is never any distance or separation in our relationship with God as is implied when we use the term "close" in the context of our relationship with Him. He lives in us! I would never say "my stomach is close to me" or "my brain is close to me" would I? Neither does it make any sense to ever say "I feel close to God". You are in Him and He is in you? You are inseparable from God. Unlike any earthly relationships, our relationship with God is one of unconditional love and grace and is completely independent of our actions or sin. He is in us and we need only realize this truth which applies to all who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. This is the gift we receive in Christ. It is not that we are "saved by grace" and now we "live by works". We live in the wonderful freedom of His unconditional grace all the time, not just "at the moment of salvation".

Let's look closer at the word to understand all we have in our relationship with God. Please realize that you may have come to understand that some of these truths of scripture only apply to believers who have reached some special level of maturity over many years of walking with the Lord. Nothing could be further from the truth. They may only have discovered these truths after many years, but they are the free gift we all receive in Christ. We have received much more in Christ than most believers realize.

Jesus teaches that all who believe in Him receive the Holy Spirit which is like a river, not a trickle or dribble, but a river within us. What power, persistence and refreshing there is in a river.

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:38-39 NIV)

This is something all believers have from those who have known Christ for 20 minutes to those who have known Him for 20 years. It is unconditional and true for all of us who know Him. Now, if a river is flowing from within me, why would I ever say this river is "close" to me or I am "close" to the river. No, it is within me. Praise God.

We know the teaching of the Holy Spirit within us from other scripture as well

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:16-18 NIV)

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. (John 17:22-23a)

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:9-11 NIV)

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4 NIV)

This is the condition of all believers. We all have the Holy Spirit. There is nothing we must do. There is nothing we must "accept". We only must realize this is the truth about our relationship with God. Recognizing this truth, we can live accordingly in the joy and peace He brings to our hearts. God is never close to us. He lives within us. All obstacles of sin have been swept away by the blood of Christ. We are made righteous in Christ so that God can and does dwell within us. He is with us forever and we will be with Him forever.

How Does This Change our Relationship with God?

The truth of God within us, completely unconditionally, changes everything. Our relationship with God is not based on our works or effort, just as our salvation in Christ is not based on our works or effort. There is nothing we need to do to "prepare our hearts" before God. Our hearts are completely and forever cleansed by Christ. We need only realize and rejoice in the incredible gift of life we have in Christ. There is nothing I need to pray. It doesn't matter how our day has gone or how well we think we have "obeyed" God during the day. Anytime and all the time we can just enjoy the reality of God's presence in our lives. I don't need to work up any special focus or have any particular thoughts in my mind. Throw out any notions that you must somehow clean up your mind or heart before God. All has been cleaned by Christ. See the truth of indescribable and bountiful grace and enjoy the unconditional intimacy of our relationship with God.

Does this sound like it is too good to be true? Isn't there something in our hearts that says there must be some condition or something we must do to merit this? What a silly thought. We would never think of personal effort in our salvation in Christ. In the same manner, get rid of this notion of works or personal effort in our relationship with God. It is far better than you could have ever imagined. This is the truth of scripture.

The only work or personal effort needed in our relationship with God is the effort to understand the fullness of this gift He has given us and to reject the falsehood of any work based relationship with God. Read the scripture and rejoice that all you read is yours in Christ. Do not be content to go along with all you have been taught in the past, but challenge yourself with the truth of scripture. The work and effort in our relationship with God is simply to get rid of the idea of any work or effort necessary on our part to improve or maintain the relationship. The relationship itself is free and unconditional.

As we realize the bountiful, free gift of God's presence in our lives through Christ, we will know an indescribable peace, contentment and joy. At any and every moment in my life, regardless of what I have done or how I feel about myself, I can enjoy and delight in God and His unchanging presence in my life. I know His grace covers the needs of my life and all those around me. There is nothing I need to say or do but just realize and remember the truth of He in me. I need not strive nor seek after Him. He is not afar or apart from me in any way. I can simply rest in His presence.

Looking Back at the Concept of "Closeness" to God

We need to understand the problems with the concept of being "close" to God rather than the truth that we are perfect in our relationship with God in Christ. Most believers, and I would have included myself in this category just a week or two ago, see our relationship with God largely driven by what we think and do. We don't have any question that we are saved, but there is a widely varying "closeness" in our relationship with God which varies depending on how we feel about God and how we have been living our life. In other words, the quality, "closeness" and intimacy of our relationship with God is based on our works not on God's freely given grace. Again, we are not questioning our salvation, but we perceive a variation in our "closeness" to God based on how we are doing. We might "draw close" to God in a time of bible study and prayer in the morning, only to find ourselves distant from God as the circumstances of the day take over our lives. The remainder of the day can be fruitless in our efforts to "draw close" to Him as the worries, concerns and disappointments of the day dominate our hearts and minds. Our only relief, and I have often been there, is a refreshing nights sleep to erase the worries of the previous day and give us a fresh start on a new day. This cycle of "closeness" to God in the morning and a "growing distance" from God during the day can be a vicious pattern repeated day after day, week after week, year after year with no relief and little or no long-lasting change. We are trapped by the incorrect perception that the quality of our relationship with God is dependent on us and how we perform in life. If we do good, the relationship is good. If we do bad, the relationship is bad. We have a clear understanding of God's immeasurable grace in Christ to save us, but we fail to see this same immeasurable grace of God is at work in our day to day relationship with Him offering to us an intimacy and fellowship with Him which is beyond "close".

We must also confront the pictures or images we have in our mind which define our relationship with God. We all probably have some kind of "picture" of God in our minds. How far away do you see Him? Is He someone you must seek after? Any picture in your mind that you are not intimately united with Him is an incorrect view. As we have already discussed, He is within us. To imagine Him as apart from us and that we must "turn our focus" to Him or do anything to "draw close to Him" is completely false. We need only realize He is within us and all around us and we can rest completely in Him. There is nothing for us to do. Recognize the gift you have from Him. Rest in His finished work and enjoy His unending presence in your life.

I must point out that my writings prior to this point in time have contained the erroneous concepts of "seeking after God" and "focusing on Him". One of the core teachings I have put forth over the last few years in my articles is how we as believers can and should focus continuously on God throughout each moment of our lives. I have seen this as a faith choice we make concerning the thoughts and meditations of our hearts. We can choose to think, and often worry, about our own little world and concerns or we can choose to focus our mind and heart and mind on God and His glory, love, compassion and wisdom. I think this has contained much truth, but I now see the error of "focusing on God" and rather now understand the intimacy of our relationship with God as I now see more clearly the reality of His presence in me. I have always known He is in us as believers, but for some reason I always thought of God as separate from me and as someone I needed to seek after. It was like I could worship Him from afar, so to speak, but it was a struggle to "draw close" to Him. There was a focus on Him at times, but there was a lack of intimacy. I would often have a fruitless struggle to focus on Him, battling other thoughts and worries in my mind and heart. Other times there was "no struggle" as my heart and mind drifted to other thoughts completely devoid of God and His presence. I was trapped, as most believers are, in the vicious cycle of a relationship with God based on my efforts and performance. I mistakenly acted as if my relationship with God always simply reflected how I did and how I felt about myself. I had the right idea that our "focus" should be on God, but I didn't realize that there wasn't anything I needed to do. I now realize He has done it all and rejoice in the unbroken fellowship I have in my relationship Him.

You might recall the two passages in the New Testament which speak of drawing near to God

Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 4:8a NIV)

let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22 NIV)

and object to my assertion that we are "never close to God". One thing to note is that these passages say nothing about any growing distance between us and God, which is what I believe is implied when we use the term "close" to describe our our relationship with God. We use "close" in a way to compare with times when we are "not close" or we see ourselves as "farther away" or "distant" from God. In other words, these scripture only speak of moving in a direction towards God so they do not apply to our modern concept of being "closer" to God. I might add that the NIV uses the word "close" only 8 times in the New Testament and never in reference to our relationship to God.

Now what do I do?

You may now be thinking to yourself, "what about things like bible reading, bible study, prayer and worship? Aren't feeding on God's word and prayer essential elements to maintain a healthy relationship with God?" Certainly, we are to pray, but where does it say in scripture that we must pray in order to have a relationship with God. Let's remind ourselves of the truth of scripture:

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:38-39 NIV)

Do you read anywhere is God's word that we must pray to have His presence? Does it say anywhere in scripture that our relationship with God is dependent on how much time spend in prayer? I don't find this anywhere. It is reasonable to conclude that those who realize the wonder and joy of our relationship with God will spend more time with Him in prayer, but time in prayer is an outgrowth of their knowledge and understanding of the relationship. Certainly, with a proper understanding of the unconditional presence of God in our lives, we will spend more time in prayer and spending more time with God will certainly cause us to grow in our understanding and wonder of all that we have in Christ. We can certainly also expect to grow in our knowledge of all that He is as well. The point I am trying to make is that time spent with God, in prayer in this case, is simply an opportunity to enjoy His presence in a special way. It is an expression of the relationship we have with Him, not some work we must undertake to maintain our relationship with Him.

In a similar fashion, the study of His word brings knowledge and understanding to our hearts about our wonderful God and His work on our behalf. We certainly grow in our understanding and love for Him as we learn more about Him. The status or "closeness" of our relationship with God is not dependent on any program or discipline of scriptural study, though. The Bible is God's revelation of all that we need to know, but God's gift to us in Christ is not dependent on our complete understand and knowledge of all things. We as a believers all have a thriving relationship with Him. The understanding of His word simply gives us greater understanding of this wonderful relationship we have in Christ.

Concluding Thoughts

How freeing it is to know that my moment by moment relationship with God is completely independent of anything I have done or how I feel about myself. There is nothing I need to think, no special frame of mind and no preperation necessary to enjoy intimate fellowship with our wonderful Savior and Creator. He is within me and I only need to realize and enjoy the fellowship and presence of God. Enjoy the true life of a thriving, intimate relationship with God we are freely given through God's incredible grace in Christ. There are no strings or conditions in this relationship. Living in this world is hard enough. Don't make it even harder than God intended it to be by placing unscriptural and unreasonable restrictions on your relationship with God. Enjoy the complete freedom and incredible grace you have in your relationship with God.

February 2005

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