Have you left God outside your door?
If you are to truly desire an intimate relationship with God you must first empty yourself of everything but God. You might be inclined to dismiss this as either impossible or impracticable, but consider for a moment all that we know of God. And all that we know of God is this: God is love – pure unending, unquenchable, undeniable, unconditional all-encompassing love. What are you holding onto that could be of or is of greater value or more importance than a God who is all love?
Fill yourself with God
Have you left God outside your door? Have you filled yourself with yourself and other things? All that fills you that is not God—and you are not God—all the beauty and pleasures of the world, all the created things that God has created which you have acquired leaves little or no room for God. God does not compete with anyone or anything for your gratitude and devotion; He will not shout to get your attention; He will not clear away the clutter and distractions so that He might find a place to rest in you. The truth is God does not do windows. Although God is in everything, of everything, and has created all that is good, if your heart, mind, and soul are focused on yourself and other things then God will patiently oblige, He will never intrude.
You may wait for eternity for God to invite you into Himself, for He already did so when He called you into being. Certainly it is the height of conceit — yet a common view held by many — to believe that God is patiently standing outside only waiting for a personal invitation. As so often happens with us creatures, we mistakenly place ourselves before God, the created in command of the Creator, and proclaim with our words and our actions that He is welcome but only at our convenience and only in our own time and place.
To have an intimate relationship with God you must let God in, let God rest within your soul, welcome God with all your heart. Above all else you must seek Him out and ask Him to come inside to a place warm and inviting. God is at home in you and you are the one who must open the door and welcome Him into your soul. You cannot find God or achieve intimacy with Him as long as you place greater importance on yourself and earthly treasures. You cannot place God in a self-storage container and only visit Him whenever you find it convenient or you need something from Him.
To empty one’s self of all but God requires you to place God first in all that you say, pray, and do. We can say the right words, pray fervently to God, do good works and have it all count for less than nothing if it is meant for our own benefit. Meister Eckhart once said “God doesn’t care for works, but only for the quality of the love, the devotion and the spirit that are in the works. He doesn’t care much about our works, but only about the condition of our soul in our works; to love only Him, in all things.”
God is love. Are you filled with God?
