“I only find true freedom when I bring every part of my heart into the light, letting unconditional love pour water onto the destructive fires of shame and fear.”- Christa Black Gifford
As Christa Black Gifford concludes Chapter 7 of Heart Made Whole, she notes the scary nature of intimacy. Especially to a human heart accustomed to rejection. For intimacy means no secrets, coverings, or barriers. Yet, Ms. Gifford notes, something beautiful happens when you jump over your fear and unzip your chest. As you expose the good and the bad, you live exposed and receptive to God’s unconditional love. And through intimacy, love heals everything.
Furthermore, as author and speaker Graham Cooke clearly states, “Relationship is God’s responsibility — and He secured that with the cross. But now, fellowship is your responsibility.” Thus, you must combine head knowledge with heart experience when reading the Bible. Christa explains:
“It’s easy to open the Bible and read a Scripture with your physical eyes and memorize a sentence with your head, but studying the Bile without experiencing the God of the Bible is a total waste of time. If your pursuit of Scripture isn’t leading you to intimate fellowship with God, then you’ve completely missed the mark.” (emphasis author’s)
In addition, Ms. Gifford observes, if we attend church week after week just to file new data about God into our brains, our heads get big. However, our hearts remain small – and sometimes very broken.
Finally, through the power of the Holy Spirit, go forward and deepen your kinship with Christ. In the process, you must move from servant to friend. Christa stresses that it’s important to learn how to simply be with Jesus. As the author concludes, “Cultivating an intimate relationship with God . . . mean(s) learning to bring God into every part of your existence.”
Today’s question: How have the destructive fires of shame and fear impacted your heart? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Stop, wait, and listen to Jesus”
