When we, by faith, are baptized into Christ we are making a commitment or covenant to God much like the commitment or covenant we make in marriage. The closeness we feel to God at that moment is one that we never want to lose. Just when we think we will never lose that feeling, life happens, and we wonder if we can ever get back that closeness we once cherished. The Bible gives us a formula for regaining that feeling of closeness to God. James 4:8-10, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” God is only a prayer away and all we need to open communication with him is to get down on our knees. When we make an inventory and there are any thoughts or behaviors that are outside of the will of God, we must repent, make amends, and make changes. Humility is the key to having a close relationship with God. Don’t let pride stand in the way of intimacy.
For Paul, the most important thing to him (his pearl of great price), was to know Christ. Philippians 3:8, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” He is saying that a deep intimacy with Christ is powerful and eternal and any other pursuit is worthless. There is nothing that can compare with an intimate relationship with God. If you feel as though God is slipping away, remember the first and greatest commandment. “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” Love is intentional and we must live that way. We not only seek him in times of desperation, but we must seek him at all times. Intimacy in Christ gives us a safety net of love and peace that we cannot get anywhere else.
