Journey the Agape Road

Journeying the Agape Road: Developing an Intimate Relationship with God

I am the way, truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. Jesus’ job description is to lead us into an intimate love relationship with God. At the same time, God, the Father, reaches for us through His Son–Jesus Christ. Ponder for a moment an inconceivable thought–God, Himself, passionately desires an intimate relationship with each of us!

The Agape Road: A Path of Love

The path leading to an open connection with God is the Agape Road. It is a path of Love He laid out to bring us to Himself, one that Jesus pioneered during His earthly life. He invites us to journey to knowing and loving God as Father, but the choice is ours. It is essential to understand that heaven is not the goal. If you are a Christian and you die, you have to go to heaven, there is no place else to go! The goal is knowing the Father Himself!

The Struggle for Intimacy

When we choose to follow Jesus and give our hearts to Him, we experience some intimacy with God. However, it is often sporadic and inconsistent. Let me illustrate this from my own life. I was sitting on my back porch when I heard God clearly say to me, I want you to love Me with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and I want you to love others. This will require spontaneity and risk.

The more I thought about God asking me to love others, the more I felt resentment, discomfort, and anger. I thought it was unfair for God to ask me to do what I could not and did not even want to do! I believed I might be able to love God—but not His kids! I was too immature to know how to receive or give love on God’s terms.

An Evolution of Understanding

Without realizing it, I was initially attracted to God as Father because I wanted to use Him for my own comfort and success. Essentially, I wanted Him to do what I wanted, not have a free hand to do what He wanted with me. When you think about this, it summarizes most people’s initial experience with God.

I was devastated when I realized how much of my prayer life was centered on getting things from God. I found that I did not even know how to pray without attempting to control God. When my prayer life crashed, I took a pendulum swing to the other extreme and became afraid that if I really loved God and opened to Him, He would send me to some forgotten backwater to rot.

The Journey Towards Genuine Love

To please Him, I basically lied to Him—I vowed, committed, and promised what I knew I could not give Him—my whole heart. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, I ran, hid, and shifted blame—the essence of sin. Eventually, discouragement made me feel like Peter, who said to the Lord, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” But Jesus was faithful to take me up the Agape Road, where I found the grace to say, “Abide with me, for I am a sinful man.”

When God tells us to love, the ability to give and receive love grows. As we discover our real motives and attitudes and come to terms with the “real” us, Jesus will begin to walk us up the Agape Road toward genuine Love.

Questions and Thoughts

In what ways has your intimacy with God been sporadic or interrupted?

How do you feel about developing an intimate relationship with God?

In what ways are your prayers aimed at getting God to do what you want?

As we all navigate our own unique journeys of faith, remember that developing an intimate relationship with God requires vulnerability, honesty, and a willingness to let go of control. When we surrender our desires and align our hearts with His, we pave the way for a deeper, more meaningful connection with our Creator. The Agape Road beckons, inviting us to take each step with faith and courage, knowing we are loved beyond measure.

by: Traci Morin

Touch of God International Ministries - Christian Ministry of Healing and Deliverance

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