Growing in maturity as we walk our journey is to know Christ. It is far more than acquiring information and Bibke knowledge. It is knowing Christ as a Person full of love and acceptance, not for some future situation, but for the here and now experiences of life. It is mind blowing to experience the Creator of the universe living in us, because we are in Him. This relationship is the deepest of all relationships, not because we have done anything. It is only because He loves us, despite our rebellion and sin. The apostle Paul teaches us in his prayer:
Ephesians 3:14-21 - Prayer for Spiritual Strength
[14] For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, [15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, [16] that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
[20] Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
“Though the crowds call him the friend of sinners as an indictment, the label is one of unspeakable comfort for those who know themselves to be sinners. That Jesus is friend to sinners is only contemptible to those who feel themselves not to be in that category.” - Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers
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