Читать книгу The Yuletide Factor - Tim Huff - Страница 13

Nearness and intimacy are close (pun intended) but not the same. Intimacy can seem scary because it requires reciprocity; if we want to experience true intimacy, we must open ourselves up, make ourselves vulnerable. But nearness asks nothing of us. Nothing. God’s nearness to us, as Tim notes in this chapter, is the gift we all long to be assured of—God loving us and coming close to us and being with us when we need it most, without any demand on us.

Can you think of a time when you sensed God drawing near and inviting you to draw near to Him?

Do unanswered questions or unresolved pain (or anything else) keep you from drawing near to God?

How often do we draw near to others in their pain and hardships with absolutely no expectation of reciprocity or response?

Does this happen easily in your life and community? If not, what do you think keeps us from doing that more often?

Even when we keep our guards up and our eyes down, we can’t stop His nearness. To be sure, His nearness to us is an open invitation to intimacy, but in its simplest form it is just love incarnate loving us and inviting us to receive. May we receive the comfort and gift of nearness that replenishes us. And may we draw near to others in their need without demand for reciprocity or response.