Intimate Knowledge

I just want to take a moment to thank you for coming along with me on this journey. And I need to apologize if my thoughts do not seem to follow a logical flow or pattern. I am really not sure where we are going, or what we will find along the way - all I really know is how we will get there, because that is the whole point - passionately pursuing God. I have a feeling that we will probably take some twists and turns, as that seems to be how my brain functions - could be motherhood (and the lack of sleep), or it could just be me (a little weird).

Please, if you have any questions or comments or whatever that you want to share with me or discuss with me, just send them my way! I want this to be a journey of discovery for all of us. We are in this together, right?

So, let’s keep on pursuing Him, seeking to know the One who loves us more than we could ever know or even imagine! Let’s open our eyes and our hearts and see what we will discover today.

PPG - Andrea


Philippians 3:8
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.


I know that we have looked at this verse in the past, in reference to knowing Christ, but I think it bears repeating. It is definitely a truth that I need to reflect on time and time again - to "know Christ."

I just get goose bumps when I think of this passage! That Paul would be willing to give up all things (and indeed he did many times) all just to know Christ is thrilling! Imagine what it must be like to know Him this deeply and intimately. To think that when we really get to know Him, as the relationship grows deeper, each and every day, it will become more precious to us than anything else on this earth. Wow!

I believe one of the issues facing us is comprehending what it is to know Him. What does it really mean? We can read the Bible, and discover things about God. We can learn all His names and His attributes. We can memorize verse after verse talking about all the mighty things He has done, words He has spoken, people He has changed. All of this is awesome, and I would even say important. But until we personalize it all, it is quite meaningless. Doing all of these things will not necessarily help us to know Him any better than before, until we make it a part of us.

When Paul talks about knowing Christ, He is talking about a very real, very personal experience. I don’t think that anything else would cause him to live through what he lived through in his life (prison, beatings, getting stoned, ship wrecks, you name it) for just some simple head knowledge and facts he had learned about the God he served. No, he had a very intimate, and personal experience with a very intimate and personal God. Is that what you have?

In verse 10 of this same passage, Paul again re-iterates that he wants to "know Christ." The Greek word for "know" in this verse is ginosko, which means "to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of, perceive, feel; to become acquainted with, to know; Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman." (Emphasis mine) Wow! That’s some pretty strong language Paul must be using here! To use a word that is an idiom for sexual intercourse to describe how he wants to "know Christ" is pretty bold. Yet, it is perfect and beautiful.

There is really no knowledge more deep, more intimate, or more beautiful than that shared by a man and a woman after they consummate their relationship, is there? That is why God holds sex in such high esteem, asking that we reserve it only for the one who has committed themselves fully to us in marriage. It is a very deep and personal knowledge that leaves us vulnerable, and opens us up to the other person.

Yet, that is what we have in Christ, is it not? One who has committed Himself so completely, so passionately to us that He gave His very life in a very ugly and brutal way - all so He could have a relationship with us! He did not give us a ring, He gave us the cross, followed by a glorious, empty tomb. He wants us to be vulnerable, opening up to Him, as He was vulnerable, and has opened up to us in so many ways. He is deeply committed to us, and that is what He desires from us, as well. He wants us passionately committed, and He wants us to know Him intimately, perfectly, thoroughly.

We need to remember that we are passionate, intimate, personal people who serve a passionate, intimate, personal God.

Let’s spend some time today with God asking Him if this is the kind of relationship we have with Him. If it is, seek Him to know How to deepen it even further. If it is not, then ask how you can have this with Him. Let Him show you where to start - let Him fill you with all that He has to offer. Perhaps this is something that you do not even long for, at this point. If that is you, then spend some time asking God why this is not a desire for you, because I believe that He wants this to be our desire - He has hard-wired us to long for that which only He can provide. Perhaps you are trying to fill the void with something else, or you just haven’t yet recognized the desire for what it is. Regardless of where you are in your relationship with God, seek Him today. Let Him show you what it is to desire Him, and to truly know Him.