(Continued)
Jesus continues by pointing out that the model including the factors of insight, opportunity, and obedience has been in existence since the creation of mankind. Now, however, God, the Heavenly Father of everything is desiring to ratchet up the whole thing and is including and setting into motion another factor regarding his relationship with his prize creation of mankind. To the factors of insight, opportunity, and obedience, he is adding another factor; Intimacy.
“Wait a minute, please,” I inject. “Let me see if I can respond to what I think is being offered here. Are you suggesting that if my family and I take up the offer to become partners in this enterprise of helping to establish God’s Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven, that we would be in some way involved in an intimate relationship with God the Father, himself? Would we really have access to an intimate relationship with God the Father, and with Jesus Christ, and also with God, the Holy Spirit . . . Intimacy? Intimacy?”
Jesus explains, “Oh yes, God the Father has cut through every other level of intimacy known before in history and is saying that beginning now, you have the privilege of not just calling him Almighty Father Creator of a heaven and earth . . . or even Heavenly Father, but now you are instructed to call him Abba Father . . . or . . . “Daddy.” It is an intimacy akin to that of the eternal Father with his only begotten son! Intimacy!
I am just a very simple man. But I instantly have a picture in my mind portraying how I see intimacy. Let me see if I can articulate what I am seeing in my mind:
The streets of heaven are paved with gold, but I envision the sidewalks and hallways of heaven being shiny marble from some exotic quarry from some neighboring galaxy. They are slick and polished a hundred times more glossy than the fancy granite countertops in the richest castle on earth. As a happy-hearted boy, I run full speed down the hallways. I am just in my stocking feet and when I reach maximum speed, I lock my legs and slide lickity-split just as far as I possibly can. Then, I pick up my speed again by running some more. This time I come to a corner, slide around the corner and into a huge vaulted room. Again, I run and then slide across the room to a gigantic chair. I drop the things I have been carrying down to the floor and scramble up the side of the chair and onto the lap of my father.
I throw my arms around my father and boisterously holler, “I love you Heavenly Father.” Then, I realize what I just said, and with no less enthusiasm I blurt out again, “I love you father.” He looks at me with an endearing smile and immediately I am engulfed in this tsunami of intimacy and love. I bury my face into his soft neck, tighten my grip as if I had never hugged anybody else in the world, “I love you Daddy. You are my very own Daddy and I love you more than I will ever love anything else . . . I love you Daddy!”
I continue to sit on his lap and we just sit there and talk about stuff. Pretty soon, he starts to get up. I smoothly slide down his leg to the floor. I scamper over to the place where I had dropped the things I had been carrying when I slid into the room. I had been carrying my screwdriver and my hammer. I grabbed my screwdriver and hammer in one hand and I reached up to take hold of my Daddy’s hand with my empty hand. I tipped my head up and looked into his face. “Can I ask a great huge favor? I don’t know what you do all day. But I just want to be with you. I really just want to be with you. I solemnly promise that I won’t chatter a lot or interfere with any of the important business . . . I just want to be with you.”
“I know that you are Jehovah Hoseenu and that you design, engineer, and create everything that exists. If you just happen to be planning to create a new planet or something today, would it be possible that I might get to help a little bit . . . I brought along my screwdriver and hammer just in case. I know that you make things that last forever, but maybe I could tweak something a little bit and maybe we could even get another eighteen months added on to the warranty. I just want to be with you.
He looks down into my eyes, smiles coyly at me and gives me a quick wink. We turn and start walking as he affectionately squeezes my hand. “Oh, yes,” I say respectfully, “I know I said I wouldn’t chatter if I could come along, but there is one more thing before we get started. “Do you remember that little girl out in southwest Idaho that you created named Anna Marie? You created her especially for me about a year after I was born. You saw me and knew that I was really going to need a lot of help to make it. So, you gave her to me. And then you gave us a love for each other that lasted all of our lives.
We would be riding in the car down on earth, or talking at the breakfast table, and I would say to Anna Marie, ‘The very first thing I am going to tell my Abba Daddy when I see him in heaven, is thank you for such a wonderful gift that has lasted for a whole lifetime.’” And then I will start singing to him:
Oh, God, you are my father, each morning I will seek your face.
My soul cries out for your mercy; I long for a touch of your grace.
Though it seems I’m often surrounded by a dry and desolate land;
Yet, I behold your power and glory and I know that I’m safe in your hand.
Your love is better than life, and my heart longs to offer you praise,
So, I’ll lift up my hands and I’ll worship you, and be satisfied all of my days.
When I make my bed in the darkness, I will sing with joy a new song,
And recall all the times that you’ve rescued me,
And I’ll worship you all my life long.
(Paraphrase of Psalm 63 by Paul Johnson)
Then, Anna Marie and I will begin quoting together the 91st Psalm that we memorized shortly after we were married:
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and fortress, my God, in him will I trust. Surely, he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day, nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come neigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord my God, even the most high, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee. Neither shall any plague come neigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under foot.
Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him. I will set him on high because he has known my name. He shall call upon me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him, with long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation. (Psalms 91)
What did he mean when he said, “. . .because he hath known my name?” What is his name and why is that so important to know his name?
Next Week: Same story continued