Do
we have to have an “experience” to know God? That depends what
you mean by “experience.”
See
this past Tuesday's post (May 5) for the “no” of “Is
experienced required?”
If
you define “experience” as intimacy – which is the definition I
personally prefer – then absolutely “Yes”. Don't we as
Christians all believe that knowing God means having a personal
relationship with Jesus? Think about it – “personal relationship”
is a synonym for “intimacy.” By definition, you don't have a
personal relationship with someone you're not intimate with on some
level.
In
fact, one could argue that Jesus died primarily so we could have
intimacy with God (both with himself and with the Father). Salvation
was just the prerequisite.
Now
God doesn't necessarily bring an intimate experience the second we
get saved (although often he does) because he wants our loyalty to
him to rest on faith and not on the experience itself. But he
promised that anyone who seeks him will find him (Deuteronomy 4:29,
Jeremiah 29:13, Matthew 7:8, Luke 11:10).
So
if we cry out to him for a greater level of intimacy, that's a prayer
he will always answer “yes”. He wants it more than we do.
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