“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Who ever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” — John 15:4-5 (ESV)
Communion with God
The Christian life is meant to be marked by union with God. By the powerful sacrifice of Jesus, the Holy Spirit now dwells within us — longing to make His nearness known. He longs for His perfect love and peace to be the foundation of everything we do, think and feel.
Brother Lawrence wrote about a life lived in continual communion with God in the book, “The Practice of the Presence of God.” He wrote, “I cannot imagine how religious persons can live satisfied without the practice of the presence of GOD. For my part I keep myself retired with Him in the depth of the centre of my soul as much as I can; while I am so with Him I fear nothing, but the least turning from Him is insupportable.” The more we grow in our knowledge of the profound union that exists between our spirit and the Holy Spirit, the more we will discover our great need of His tangible, constant presence.
Maybe you are at a place where you don’t feel like you really know God. Maybe you know about Him but don’t know Him like a friend. In describing the process of coming to know God, Brother Lawrence wrote, “In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure.” An amazing transformation takes place in our hearts as our souls awake to our union with God. His love has the power to ignite us toward a lifestyle of seeking greater communion with Him.
In many ways, our God is infinitely more knowable than any person. Because God is spirit and now dwells within the hearts of believers, He is perfectly able to reveal Himself in deeper, more knowable ways than you have access to with anyone else. He has the ability to reveal His thoughts, feelings, power, love and will, moment by moment and in ways that surpass the miscommunication that language often brings. He speaks straight from His Spirit to yours that you may truly know Him to greater depths than anyone else.
The question is not can we know God, but are we willing to center our lives around the knowledge of Him?
— Craig Denison, First15
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