What Does It Mean to Draw Near to God?
Being a disciple of Jesus involves sharing in His ministry on earth. Just as Yeshua came to earth to fulfill the Father’s assignment, so our assignment on earth is to continue the work of Christ. Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21).
Knowing God and doing His work are inextricably tied together. We are His light on earth right now. We are the body of Messiah in this age! We co-labor with Jesus on this earth, winning the lost; offering deliverance; serving as instruments of love, healing, and peace; and standing as bastions of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father” (John 14:12). So the bride’s other life goal is to do the works— and greater works—of God in close partnership with Him.
In the same way, our lives and journeys into divine love involve a balance of spending time alone with God (“draw me”) and doing His work (“run together”). “Draw me” looks like sitting with Him every day, listening to beautiful worship music, being silent before Him, reading His Word, listening to messages preached, and spending time in fellowship with other followers of Yeshua.
“Let us run together” is doing the works of the gospel He has prepared in advance for us to do, serving in all manner of ways beginning with our own family and friends.
James the apostle said, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (Jas. 4:8). And Yeshua said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me” (John 14:21, 23–24).
Aren’t you thankful that God reveals Himself to us during our lives on this earth? It is true that now we see through a glass dimly, but that doesn’t mean we have to wait for heaven to experience God’s glory. No, Ephesians 1:14 says we’ve been given the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance. The Holy Spirit gives us foretastes of the things conferred to us by God.
Think about it, beloved ones: we can know the things freely given to us by God, by the Spirit of God. What a blessing!
To read more from Rabbi Schneider’s ‘A Journey Into Divine Love,’ visit MyCharismaShop.com