“‘In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay’” (Heb. 10:37; NIV). As believers, we understand that Christ is coming back to the world, even though we do not know the exact timing of His return, as Matthew 24:44 says. We eagerly await His return, longing to be with Him forever… but what if we could meet Him right here, right now?
Of course, during our time on earth, we cannot physically touch Jesus’s flesh and bones like His disciples could. However, God’s Word is very clear: we do not have to wait until we get to Heaven in order to fellowship with God. Even as we look forward to the glorious eternity with Him, we can still enjoy His presence right now. Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” The word “find” also means “meet, encounter.” In the following verses, one thing is certain—God desires us to know Him.
It starts with relationship. In John 10:14 (NIV), Jesus proclaims, “‘I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me.’” Part of being a Christian means having a personal relationship with Jesus, where you realize that He isn’t only God of the universe, but your God. It’s going from simply knowing about Jesus through hearing information to now getting to know Him for yourself through personally interacting with Him. Paul in Philippians 3:8 (NLT) even exclaims, “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” The Amplified version calls it a “priceless privilege” to get to know “Christ Jesus my Lord [and… growing more deeply and thoroughly acquainted with Him…].” Notice how in both of those versions Paul says “Jesus my Lord,” circling back to the point about this being a personal relationship. Why is knowing Jesus so important? The writer of Psalm 73:25 (NIV) simply tells God: “Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You.” Psalm 16:2 (NIV) echoes this powerful truth with “You are my Lord”—again, notice the my before Lord—“apart from You I have no good thing.” In all of the universe there is nothing and no one like Jesus, so it truly is a “priceless privilege” to get to know Him. John 17:3 (NLT) also says, “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one You sent to earth.” The word “know” in this verse is actually synonymous with “to feel.” Here we see that feeling God touch your heart is Biblical. No, our faith does not operate on feelings. We certainly do not have to feel God before we believe Him or trust Him, and if we do not feel Him, that does not mean we are doing something wrong. However, it is still possible to experience Him and feel Him near, and that is something we get to enjoy here on the earth.
This is all possible through the Holy Spirit. In His Word, we learn that God is triune: God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we may wish we could have been alive during the time Jesus walked on the earth, for surely it would have been better to meet Him in the flesh. However, Jesus Himself addresses this in John 16:7, and says, “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send Him to you” (NLT). The Amplified Version puts it this way, “… but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you].” Jesus walked this earth in a human body, thus, in His human body, He could not have a conversation face to face with one believer in Jerusalem while having a conversation face to face with another believer in Bethlehem at the same exact time. This is why it was better that He ascended back to Heaven: now what was impossible in the flesh became possible through His Spirit. Now that the Holy Spirit had come, He could have a conversation with every believer at the same time. Sending the Holy Spirit made it possible to fellowship with God at any time, even while He is simultaneously fellowshipping with another believer. He gives us His undivided attention, meeting us right where we are. Yes, we still cannot touch His physical flesh and bone, but we certainly can meet with Him, walk with Him, and fellowship with Him right here during our earthly time, getting to know a bit more of who our God truly is.
If we want to know Him, we must read His Word and ask His Holy Spirit to open our eyes and help us understand. We cannot know everything, but through His help, we certainly can understand a bit more than we did before. This is why studying His Word is a lifelong pursuit, and we can never “outgrow” that. Also, just like in a friendship, we have to be willing to communicate with Him. Scripture surely places high emphasis on the value of prayer: opening our hearts to Him and freely saying whatever is on our minds—all our worries, joys, and everything in between—because we can trust Him completely. The more honest we are with Him, the closer we grow in our relationship, just like how the more secrets you share with a friend, the closer you become with that person. God already knows what we are going to say before we say it (Psalm 139:4), yet He wants to still hear us speak to Him. He knows we need someone to talk to at any time in the day and even during the night, and He’s willing to be that someone for us. What a joy and honor it is to fellowship with our Savior—the God of the universe and our closest friend.
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Yes indeed!