Good morning. How close to Jesus do you want to be? The apostle Paul describes the worth of intimacy with Christ in the third chapter of his letter to the Philippians. He begins the chapter by describing those realities of his life which most people would consider reason for great pride and confidence. He was well educated and came from an outstanding family of wealth and political importance. He was in study discipline a Pharisee, but not just any Pharisee, he was one who had studied at the feet of the grand master of Pharisees, Galamaliel. He was, in his life before intimacy with Jesus, consumed by a passion for the destruction of Christ’s church. In matters of Jewish Law, he was, he told them, “flawless”. But all of that, he says, came to be considered of no more value than the worst kind of filthy waste: But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:7-11
In those verses Paul describes the wonderful value of intimacy with Jesus.
In the old days of Scotland, the common rural cottage would have two rooms in which to welcome guests. They were called “the but and the ben”. The “but” was the front room. It was the larger room that any visitor to the home would be welcomed. It was a room of friendship, but not a room of intimacy. It was not a place where you would invite your special friends, those closest and dearest to you. That room was farther inside the cottage, separated from all others. This private, inner room was known as the ‘ben”.
When a Scot would speak of a person who was a friend with whom you felt confident and comfortable enough to share pretty much everything happening in your life, that person was called “far ben”. “Of the ben”, meant that the person was one of your truly intimate, closest friends.
Paul tells us in those verses that his desire is to be “far ben” with God. Intimate, worthy of trust, closer than any other friend.
We should join Paul in such a worthy desire.
Vern