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March 2001
GOD'S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE
By Jean LeStourgeon
What is my purpose in life? Why am I here? What did God create me for? Christians and non-Christians alike, all over the world, ponder these existential questions. The yearnings to comprehend the mysteries of our own human nature are etched into the image of God impressed on every man, women and child.
If one is even slightly introspective, they have asked themselves these questions. They have also heard a reply, a groan would be more accurate, coming from deep within their soul. It is a groan that expresses a sense of disappointment with the status quo, a groan that says, "There has got to be more to love and life than this." The young person's fantasy of living a life full of adventure, love and romance dies a slow and hard death as the idealism of their youth gives way to the "have to's" of the daily grind. Sadly, they abandon the desire to connect with others on the deepest levels of life, to know and to be known.
A. W. Tozer says, "The soul senses its origin and longs to return to its Source." Yet, the truth is we have all lost our way. Because of the fall, the pathway back to the Source has been utterly marred beyond recognition. There is only one way back to the Source of all of our innermost longings for love, romance, adventure, and connection. The way is through the person of Jesus Christ. The invisible God, who is love, veiled Himself in flesh and became the Way, the Truth and the Life. He literally came to show us the way back to the One for whom we long.
Created for Love
The Bible tells us that God's purpose for us is to be in the kind of relationship with Him that satisfies our deepest longings. You see, before God created mankind in His image (in the image of the Trinity), God was in perfect relationship with Himself. He was in the perfect, intimate love relationship. It is as if God was pregnant with love and out of that love He gave birth to mankind, the only creature made in His image. God created us in love to share in the joy of this perfect intimacy with Him.
Throughout the Bible God uses the imagery of the marital relationship to illustrate the deep intimate relationship He desires to have with His people. He makes it abundantly clear that is what we were created for. God said through Jeremiah to the people of Israel "I am your Husband." In Revelation 19 we are called the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. In Ezekiel 16, God, speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, describes this intimate and romantic love relationship He wants with His people. God declared that Israel was like an unwanted baby whose pagan parents had thrown her out into a field to die. They despised her so much that they did not even bother to cut her cord, let alone clean her up. But God picked her up out of her blood and bathed her and dressed her and nurtured her and caused her to live. And as she grew and developed into a young maiden, God expressed the intent of His love.
Ezekiel 16:8 "Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine."
There is no other passage of scripture that seems to convey, in such graphic detail, the intimacy that the Lord desires to have with His people. It is described as an intimate love relationship between husband and wife where the Lord protects, nurtures and preserves His lover for her well-being and His delight.
Jesus also spoke of this intimacy in John 14:20 when He said "On that day you will realize that I am in my father and you are in me and I am in you." He goes on to say in verse 23 "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." God and His son Jesus want to abide with you. They want to take up habitation in you! That is an amazing truth.
"I Want to Know Christ"
In Genesis 4:1, the Hebrew word used for sexual relations is Yada, to know. The King James Version states that Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived. The writer of Genesis was conveying that Adam's relationship with Eve was more than just physical; he was conveying that their relationship was based on a personal and experiential knowledge of one another.
For the apostle Paul the desire to know Christ was the cry of his heart. The longing of his innermost being was to be connected with his Lord in a deeply personal way. In Phil 3:10 Paul writes, "I want to know Christ . . ." The Amplified version states it this way, "[For my determined purpose is . . .. [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him.]" Paul is expressing the reality that our relationship with God is ever expanding and developing. It is important to note that Paul was not just talking about head knowledge here. The Greek word he uses for know is ginosko, and it suggests that Paul is talking about a deeper, intimate knowledge of Christ; a knowledge that comes by personal experience.
Religious Works or Relationship?
Anyone who has read a good biography knows that much can be gleaned about a person from reading a book. The reader may in fact feel that they can personally relate to the subject of the biography; reading about the subject's life experiences may even move him or her emotionally. But, the fact remains that the reader would not have knowledge of that person through personal experience. They could not relate to each other on a personal basis. An exchange of information and ideas, thoughts and feelings, laughter and tears could not occur, and so a true relationship with that person could not be possible.
In the same way, a person can read the Bible and do all kinds of religious works and not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ: a relationship where He relates to you and you relate to Him on the basis of personal knowledge and emotional and spiritual vulnerability and intimacy. God wants a deep, personal and intimate relationship with us.
The scriptures we have looked at tell us that God, Who is Love (1 John 4:16), loves His chosen people and wants to be in relationship with them. What God has to offer you is the very best, better than your wildest imaginations. He created you and He knows your longings for Him. Let Him satisfy them through Jesus Christ.
Paul knew Christ was his all in all. And it was only because he had experienced this kind of relationship with Christ that he could say in the midst of severe persecution that everything the world had to offer was refuse compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus.
No matter where you are in your relationship with God, there is much more to be had. Just as true as our purpose is to be in relationship with God, is the truth that God loves us with a gentle, perfect, satisfying love. Our prayer is that through this month's studies, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will be drawn even closer to the One Who loves you with an eternal love.
Bibliography
Tozer, A. W. (1961). The Knowledge of the Holy. New York, NY: HarperCollins
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Copyright © 2001 Alan and Jean LeStourgeon
