Rosemary and I wrapped up our vacation trip to Houston with a great ride home. We had good conversation and Rosemary shared with me from a book she has been reading. Moments of intimacy are the greatest blessing of a relationship. We have known each other for forty years; but we try to never make the mistake of thinking we completely know each other. Even now, in fact, frequently, we are surprised by each other.
So much more so with God, who is infinitely more complex than Rosemary or I. We never get to the point where we know God. And the great pleasure of our relationship with Him are those moments of intimacy when our knowledge increases; when we learn just a tiny bit more of Him.
As always, OC provides me with an insight I never had on intimacy. He says, “Fruit bearing is always mentioned as the manifestation of an intimate union with Jesus Christ (John 15:1-4). John 15:1-4 are the familiar verses about the vine.
John 15:1-4 (New International Version)
The Vine and the Branches
1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
We can know if we know God. We can check our fruit. The production of the vine is directly tied to our relationship with Him… not the level of our activity for Him, nor our expressions of devotion to Him, but directly to our relationship with Him. Fruit can’t be artificially manufactured. Got God. Got Fruit
Fruit is the benefit to the body of Christ of our intimacy with Him. But for us individually, the intimacy is reward enough. Listen again to OC:
“When once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic. The saint who is intimate with Jesus will never leave impressions of himself, but only the impression that Jesus is having unhindered way, because the last abyss of his nature has been satisfied by Jesus. The only impression left by such a life is that of the strong calm sanity that Our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him.”
For you today I pray for intimacy with Him evidenced by fruit and inner peace.
Be blessed.
Nick
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