“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—“ 1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV
Reflection: do you love God?
There are countless love stories of people who have first become “pen pals”, writing letters to each other for years, falling in love before ever meeting in person. It defies the whole principle of “love at first sight”, since there is no physical contact. No physical attraction is possible through a letter, right? Just words on a page. So how then is that possible to fall in love with someone you have never met? And similarly, and perhaps even more fundamental for us Christians to think about, is how it is possible for us to love God without ever having met Him?
Most of us have experienced being physically attracted to someone, at first mostly from their looks and personality. But we also know that this sort of attraction only lasts so long. To have a true relationship with someone, you need to share something much deeper. You have to get to know each other. Sharing who you really are. And ultimately, sharing secrets of the heart, which might be the most intimate two people can be. Some might confuse physical intimacy with relationships, which often it is not. Sadly, people purchase physical intimacy. But, you cannot purchase secrets of the heart. The stuff basically very few, perhaps even no one else has access to. Your dreams and hopes. Your struggles, fears and even failures. Which is exactly why people can fall in love through a simple exchange of words in letters.
In our verse today, Paul talks about things that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, or even no heart of man has imagined, “what God has prepared for those who love him”—“ 1 Corinthians 2:9b ESV. The reveling of who He is, the secrets of God’s heart, to those who love Him. And this is not that different than being pen pals, getting to know each other through writing, through sharing secrets in written form. God has given us his love letter, the Bible. Plus He has given us His Holy Spirit, to dwell within us. So that He can share His heart, the will of God.
Paul goes on, “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” 1 Corinthians 2:10-13 ESV. God reveals Himself to us through His Spirit.
Now, this is not just a one way street. For a deep relationship to work, it has to go both ways. God sharing with you His heart while you are listening, and then you sharing your heart with Him. He wants to get to know you, in your own words. He desires to be your “pen pal”, if you will.
Write to Him.
Tell Him about yourself, your dreams and hopes. Your struggles, fears and failures. He desires to hear it all, nothing held back. Read Psalm 139, which is really David’s journey of realizing that God knows it all, yet wants to hear it all. He desires that place in your heart. But also take the time to read about Him. Ask Him to tell you things about Himself, secrets of His heart. It is pretty difficult not to love Him the more you get to know Him.