Getting Close to God

What are the obstacles that prevent us getting close to God? I think that there are many. For instance, there are the impediments described by Jesus in the parable of the soils. These impediments to receiving the word are the same as those that prevent us relating with God: enthusiasm at the beginning, but stopped by disturbances and embarrassment, shame, strangled by worries and cares, tempted by our desires, passions and luxuries, we may never go to Him in order to be saved from ourselves - they can be so appetizing that we don´t have the will to run away, toward the arms of God, the ¨nailed hands¨ of Jesus. In short, we can consider that our pride, the delights and pleasures of life, fame, glory, and plain old popularity, money and fortune, a wish to be independent and to make our own decisions are the categories of obstacles that prevent us from coming to God. And if we don´t come to God, we don´t draw close to Him. As it says in Hebrews 11:6, ¨because it is necessary that he that draws near to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those that seek Him.¨

Behind this is the reason that we have made something else our God instead of Jesus Christ. There are many ways in which we worship other things. But the line below says that we are not believing that God is capable, or knows enough or the same as us, or that He has our best interests at heart (at least, not as well as we know our own interests.) And this lack of confidence contains the fear that He is not going to satisfy our desires and interests. Then we don´t trust God concerning the things that are most important to our hearts. Nevertheless, we get in-line in order to get that which seems more valuable. But rather God, Jesus, is more valuable.

Take the world, but give me Jesus! Why? Because if Jesus made it all (and He did), if Jesus know everything and exactly what we need (and He does), if Jesus has all of the power, He is all-powerful (and He is), if Jesus always does what is correct, good, just, and honest (and He does), and finally if Jesus loves us, with agape love (and He loves us totally, completely, without reservation)...

Then we can be sure that we are able to draw near to Him in confidence that He is going to pardon us when we confess our sins and mistakes, to receive us and accept us, to stay with us as the Holy Spirit who he gives to all of those who believe in Jesus, who is God in the flesh, the body, who was born and lived in the midst of us and our world, who told us the truth and did many healings and amazing miracles, was filled on a cross on our behalf, receiving in His body the penalty for our sins, and then was confirmed as God by the resurrection of His body from death.