God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him. 

1 John 4:16 New International Version

God’s nature and character is perfect love.

Without learning to rest in God’s all-encompassing love, an unanswered prayer or a closed door leads to a deep-seated distrust and suspicion of God. Left unhealed, this lingering wound festers into a rejection that hurts so bad.

Nothing teaches us about the perfect love of God as much as when we learn the truth of our identity and the riches of our identity. An imperfect knowledge of who we are and what we have in Christ keeps us from delving deeper into an intimacy with our Heavenly Father. And so, instead of acting like sons and daughters, we continue to act and function like unloved orphans.

Intimacy invites us to heal. It releases us from every fear, guilt and condemnation and moves us forward into our common calling to holy living. Holiness affects wholeness. If we let God transform us into the image of His love, we will not recognise ourselves afterwards. Even though we outwardly appear the same but inwardly we are changed from glory into glory. This is because the pure love of God completes the beauty God sees in us.

God not only loves us, but God chooses to love us with an unfailing and unending love. And when we reflect that love back to God—we become bolder and more determined to obey without fear or hesitation. After all, since it is the voice of perfect Love speaking to us and directing us—our response positions us to possess what is rightfully ours in Christ. We can have victory because Jesus has overcome the world. We can have faith because Jesus has conquered sin, death and hell. We can have hope because Jesus has come and is coming again.

When we are secured in Christ, we don’t have to fear when something goes wrong or what evil we experience because God will be there for us in all situations. Be refreshed by the truth from the Scriptures that says, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV)

Intimacy is not a goal or agenda to get something in return or our efforts. Rather, intimacy is both the inflow and outflow of our love from and for the love of our Father. This frees us to love God and others well—without fear or exploitation.