by Christie Berry
When you ask Yeshua into your heart it is like an introduction, a handshake, if you will, that prepares us for a lifetime of relationship… it is not the relationship itself as many seem to teach. When you accept Yeshua as Yah’s salvation for your life you are saying, “Elohim, I would like to get to know you, to build a relationship with you.” You wouldn’t, upon meeting a new person, just immediately have a strong relationship, know everything about that person, or be able to know how that person thinks or will react to things… it takes discussion, juxtaposition, intimate time with one another to build that relationship. This is the same yada (Hebrew for intimate relationship) that is requested by Messiah, he wants us to build our relationship with him before we are called up to be his bride… you certainly wouldn’t marry someone you didn’t know! Just accepting Yeshua as savior is not enough! We cannot just believe that he is Yah’s salvation (demons believe and tremble, James 2:19), we have to build the relationship.
So how do we get to know him? You are right, by prayer and reading his word. But it is important also to remember that He said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) This was said to those who only knew the Old Covenant (OT) and those were the commandments he wanted us to keep. Yeshua continued later in John 15:10 to say, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.” He asks for our obedience, our vow to the covenant. This is the covenant… a covenant of a bride and groom that have made the vow of betrothal… engagement is the term used today… an agreement that we will stay faithful to the other until we are married. How do we stay faithful to Messiah? We stay faithful by keeping his commandments, his covenant, if you will, until the time that we are to be married. As a young couple promises to stay true to one another, faithful, learning about each other, growing in love more and more as time passes, not forsaking one another… there is a commitment, there is a contract or covenant that, although unwritten, dictates what can and cannot be done within the relationship. Our covenant with Messiah is written out for us in the Old Testament. Faithfully following his covenant teachings will help us build the relationship he wants with us, but it is still not enough!
It is in keeping the covenant that we understand the character of our future spouse. As we keep the commands, we gain insight into his being, learn to think like him, and hear his still small voice when he speaks to us. As we read and learn the teachings, we will find that each Hebrew word has several levels of meaning. This is the reason why so many divisions in the body have been created. It is difficult for someone thinking in a linear fashion (Greek Thinking) to understand that each word and phrase can have several very different meanings. Moment by moment, we need to seek him to show us how he wants us to keep the teachings. As we seek, hear, and do, we will grow to know him intimately, we will walk with him in knowledge, wisdom and understanding without question. Our relationship will become like a long engagement where the betrothed know each other very well and will complete each other’s sentences. The Creator wants us to ask him each moment what to do… better yet, he is telling us each moment what to do, and he wants us to listen intently and act upon it. He is constantly speaking, whispering to us, through his Holy Spirit, guiding us through each thought and step. That is the yada, intimate relationship that he expects from his bride. Are you diligently seeking yada? Begin by reading his word and asking him how you are supposed to keep the marriage covenant that he has set in stone! They are the guiding words that bring us to close relationship with the Father of all and with our Bridegroom, Yeshua. Get past the handshake and begin building your relationship!
Shalom!
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