AS CLOSE AS YOU CHOOSE TO BE

In his book Enjoying Intimacy with God, Oswald Sanders makes the statement, “You are as close to God as you choose to be.” When I first read that statement, it rather irritated me because I felt it put pressure on me. It is saying that if my relationship with God doesn’t develop and deepen, the fault is mine—and that annoys me. Why should I be to blame if I don’t have much of a spiritual life? Is it perhaps because I am guilty? 

The fact is, the Father has established His credibility in this area by opening the door for fellowship and intimacy with His people. God has opened the path to us and it is ours to pursue — or not.

In the Old Testament, God was rather remote, detached from His people. The high priest and the leaders of the land seemed to be the ones who communicated with God. The prophets were another group that would hear from God and then convey His message to the people. In the Temple, the Holy of Holies (where God’s presence abided) was separated from everything else by a four-inch-thick curtain called the veil. Only the high priest could go behind the veil and then only once a year. There is very little indication that God spoke to or mingled with the common people.

That all changed at Calvary. When Jesus died, Scripture says the veil (which symbolized separation from God) was torn into two pieces (Matthew 27:51). The tearing of the veil started at the top, which means that it began because God chose to do it; He wanted the separation gone, done away with. It was His choice to remove the separation and make Himself accessible. God was making a strong statement here and many of us have missed the importance of it. God was saying, “I am opening the door to fellowship, to intimacy, to personal relationship. I’ve done My part by removing the barrier that has been there for thousands of years. The next part is up to you!”

Oswald Sanders deals with this important subject in his classic book by looking at several groups of disciples who chose to be close to Jesus. Each group shows a level of intimacy that is more personal than the previous.

The Crowds – In several places in Mark’s gospel we see references to the large crowds that followed Jesus at certain points in His ministry (Mark 3:7; 6:30-37; 8:1). This is the outer ring of people who do not choose to get close to Him. Instead, they come for the show, for the miracles, and for the food. And even though they come, they do not stay. The moment persecution shows up or the show slows down, these crowds disappear. The crowds are there but there is no relationship with Him and these are the crowds that are now filling many contemporary churches across the country. They come for the teaching on success but not for the prayer and Bible study.

The Seventy – Jesus chose the seventy from among His followers and sent them out to preach (Luke 10:1, 17). There is not a lot of reference to the seventy in the Gospels; they were a type of an outer circle of relationship. There is a much stronger level of commitment in this group; they love the Lord, and they love worship, prayer and studying the Word.

The Twelve – Later on, Jesus chose the twelve who would be with Him for about three years. The twelve would travel with Him and be trained by Him (Matthew 10:1-4). Most of these men would become the pillars of the New Testament church. They were the men who made their way to the Upper Room, were filled with the Holy Spirit, and set out to change the world by preaching the Gospel to everybody.

The Three – From among the twelve there emerged three who became especially close to Jesus: Peter, James and John. They were strong and very human men who wanted to be close to Jesus. The intimacy of the three was a result of their response to His love and training. They were with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37), on the Mount of Olives (Mark 13:3) and on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1).

The One – And then there was John. In his own writing he says he was “the disciple that Jesus loved” (John 21:7). John seemingly had a very close relationship with Jesus, closer than the others. Jesus loved all the disciples and He did not show favoritism but there was a special bond and love between Him and John. If Jesus loved John more, it was because John loved Jesus more. Mutual love and confidence are the keys to intimacy.

At each level all these people were as close to Jesus as they chose to be. Only those who count such intimacy a prize worth striving for are likely to attain it. If other attractions and other interests are more desirable, intimacy with the Lord is out of reach.

How close do you want to be?