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JUNE 3, 2011
THE CLOSE-IN GOD
But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9, NIV)
Let me tell you about the birdie putts I love most. They are the putts where I have hit the ball so close that I can
see deep into the hole from where my ball lies. These don’t come frequently, mind you, but they are sweet!
Many golfers would agree with me on this. When it comes to putts—for birdie, par and sometimes bogey—they
like the short ones, where they are quite intimate, shall we say, with the cup.
But now that we’ve dared to use that word in a comfortable context, let me ask you this: How many intimate
friendships do you have in your life? How many people are you really close to? We’re far more afraid of that kind of closeness, the kind where our eyes and our mind and our heart can be read. Even
more, we’re scared to death of God. Is there anyone who really wants to be intimate with Him?
Here’s the trouble with that: God wants to be intimate with us. In the perfect world of His original creation,
God came looking for man. This was not an uncommon thing. God would walk in the garden in the cool of the day, we are told. And apparently, He often encountered His man and His woman on these walks, for
suddenly, after their sin, they had gone missing.
Then God did the very thing that you or I might do upon the unexpected absence of a friend. We would call out. Oh, I
know—today that might mean sitting in the driveway and using our cell phone. But the point is the same. We want to know what has happened to our friend. We are close enough to care.
The deeper question in our thinking today is this, Do we want the close-in God to be close with us? We’ve already said it. Many of us are scared of such a nearness. God might see. God might hear.
God might judge. Well, I’ve got news for you. God already sees and hears what you are doing. And He has announced this about Himself: He is full of mercy and abounding in love. Our fear may be
well-founded, but His grace is better-given. When we get that through our heads and plant it in our hearts, we stand a great chance of having a great relationship with the God of the universe.
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Jeff Hopper
June 3, 2011
Copyright 2011 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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