Relationship. Such a simple word, and a word that is so basic to following Jesus, but also a word I dangerously overlooked and didn’t take serious nearly enough. It is what is changing my life from being a Christian, to a real pursuer of Jesus. God has a deep longing for relationship with me, and honestly I didn’t really realize that was the true longing in my heart; an intimate relationship with God, until recently.
Why was I created? This is a question I like to think about sometimes, and I’ve answered it differently throughout my life. Most of the time I think I’m here to spread the gospel and share God’s love. Sometimes I think to worship and glorify God. Maybe I was created to be fruitful and multiply. All those thoughts are
Biblical and not bad, but there is still something greatly missed if I think any of those are the main reason for my existence. The analogy that God Himself uses in the Bible for His relationship between Him and His people, is the relationship between a father and his child. This analogy was huge in realizing my true purpose in life. I started to think why people want to have kids, and why I want to have kids in the future. I really stopped and thought about it. People want kids to have relationships with them. I want kids to have a relationship with them and to love them. God is the same exact way. The main reason God created me is because He wanted to have a relationship with me. He wanted to love me, and He longs for me to love Him. Deep and intimate love.
It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship. That sounds so cliche, but I honestly didn’t fully come to know this simple truth until recently. It’s a tiring, draining, empty pursuit of God if I’m not living in relationship with Him. Why is it that I’ve been a Christian for 17 years, and have not always been filled with true joy, life, passion, and zeal? It’s because I was not living a life in relationship with my Heavenly Father. In relationship with God it’s living from an overflow, in religion it’s living by works. What I can do more than what God has already done. Trying and striving rather than abiding and loving. That’s why I was weary, tired, and empty more often than I would like to admit. Trying to do things to help me get closer to God and please God, rather than just going to God Himself who is the source of my life; true, abundant life. God is a stream of never-ending, living water. If I’m in relationship with that source, it is impossible to live a life of apathy, boredom, or emptiness.
Relationship. It is such a simple concept, but unfortunately I pushed it aside for far too long. Living in deep, intimate relationship with God is the very reason for my existence, and to miss out on this relationship is to miss out on my life.
“That’s why my greatest challenge is not my discipline, my devotion, or my focus. My greatest challenge is truly believing in the gospel.” I was hopelessly separated from God, and Jesus came and died to radically restore that through relationship with Him. It’s such a simple gospel. It’s a story of reconciliation. God longs for a close relationship with me. He pursues me, sees me, fights for me, and loves me. There is abundant life and fullness of joy just waiting for me in a deep, intimate relationship with Him. He longs for it, and so do I. It’s the one relationship that will truly transform my life.
