Barbie Loflin

John 15: ⁵”I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing.

When you are joined with Him, the relationship intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant.

Buzz word. Intimate. Intimacy. Spiritual intimacy. It is the word of the moment. The single word that seemingly defines this generation of God-seekers. It is on every flyer, every conference invitation, predominant in the spiritual culture that holds the media and allures the empty masses. The promise of intimacy, even the prospect of intimacy, unfortunately draws people en mass to experiential spirituality, rather than relational Christianity. What is sad is that so many think this is a good thing. Churches full of Seekers must be a good thing, right? Just depends on what they are seeking…and why.

You see, there is a problem with our definition and understanding of intimacy, both culturally and within the church. Intimacy has become an act, a deed, a moment, an experience, when it was designed to be something altogether other. Intimacy is supposed to be life changing, and ongoing. True intimacy is supposed to mark us, take us into the deepest nature of another, create profound familiarity with their ways. And it is that profound familiarity, that knowing of the deepest nature, that we must truly seek with the God of the Universe. Friend, it is so very important that you know intimacy is not created in a moment, but is developed, nurtured, treasured, cared for and cultivated day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. Anything less is not intimacy. Intimacy is not an experience, it is a divine sacrament. It is not a conference title, a feeling, or even the amazing rush you have in the altars when all of the right songs get played in the right order and you are moved to shout, sing, dance, cry, or fall out. Intimacy is a private work that should, over time, bear public fruit.

Intimacy, from its inception, is a producer. It is a creator. It is intended to bring something into being. God places within us a desire to be intimate with Him, because He wants fruit to be borne in the earth from that intimacy. The only way we can bear fruit that lasts is through an intimate relationship with Christ over time. Think about it.

Intimacy intertwines.

Intimacy engrafts.

Intimacy links and binds.

Intimacy produces.

We all desire to walk in intimate places with God, but what is that intimacy going to produce in our lives, what will it create? Intimacy has become the goal, with no thought of fruit or creation. We want more of His Presence, greater intimacy with Him, but to what end? So that we can stay the same and just feel good for those blissful few moments when the spiritual temperature of the room changes? So that we can go suddenly spiritual, the tainted life of compromise we were living 24 hours before seemingly benign, as we approach a Holy God with unclean hands and hearts full of mixture? Is that the intimacy we seek? Or do we want to walk in long-term relational intimacy with Him, our lives permanently changed and radically transformed – sanctification, purification, holiness, consecration beginning to finally produce their fragrant fruit in our lives?

You see, in God there is always a greater purpose. Ah, but He knows us so well. He knows we have a tendency to come at things from a what is in it for me perspective. But, so great is His love for us, instead of condemning us for our shallowness, He does something uniquely God – He gives us something that benefits and blesses (intimate moments with all of their incomparable beauty), and in the midst of the blessing he plants the seed of greater purpose; the potential for abundant harvest.

When we come away from the precious habitations, we see the pretty flowers. He sees the seed tucked neatly beneath the soil.

Oh guys, do you see? God births this hunger to be in His presence because He knows the effect His presence should have on us. Understand, dear one, the reasons we give for seeking intimate relationship are completely different from the reasons God has for allowing us that access. We desire relationship so that we are changed. He extends relationship so that the world might be changed. We think intimate, small, and personal. God thinks intimate, global, and universal.

So the next time you feel that hunger in your spirit, that longing to come into an intimate and organic relationship with this God of the Angel Armies, go in thinking bigger. Intimate is not about the King’s Chamber, it is about the King’s Heart. It is about knowing Him on the deepest levels, and caring about the things He cares about. It is about being marked and changed by your ongoing closeness, moved by the things that move Him. It is about the richness of relationship over time.

And that, beloved, is sure to bring abundant harvest.