Let’s Talk About Relationships!
I never understood what the word relationship should mean when you are a believer in Christ. I hope my devotional will challenge you to think about relationships in the way the Lord intended them to be; with His and Yours being the FIRST.
Our relationships on earth are subsets of our relationship with God. When you ask anyone what is most important in a relationship you would hear responses like intimacy, love, trust, selflessness, compassion, communication, and much more. Believe it or not, these are all attributes that SHOULD BE present in your fellowship with God.
The initial being LOVE. We know that the scriptures tell us God is Love (1 John 4:16). We are also told the importance of loving others and Him with our entire beings (Mark 12:33). In order to do so we must act selflessly and die to our own desires and flesh (Luke 9:23). We must trust in that your best interest will always be at heart (Jeremiah 29:11).
“Relationship over Religion”
RELATIONSHIP
RELIGION
Since I love mathematics, I would like to propose this next topic in terms of a fraction. In order for this fraction to at least yield a WHOLE number, the numerator has to be greater than the denominator. This same notion is inherent in our spiritual lives! In order for them to be WHOLE as the fraction above, we need a surplus of RELATIONSHIP and not so much RELIGION.
We see this concept in the interaction of Jesus with the Sadducees and the Pharisees who were so blinded by their religion, they did not even recognize the hypocrisy of denying Jesus the Son a Man (John 14:6-7)! Jesus gives Seven Woes to the Pharisees (Matthew 23:13-36) and one in particular sticks out to me!
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of [h]hell as yourselves.”
This was so powerful to me because in thinking that they were leading people to Christ, they were actually leading them away. With their rigid rules and false pretenses A.K.A religion, Jesus told them they were doing the exact opposite of their supposed ministry. There was no love, no selflessness in the Pharisees’ efforts.
This same idea is present in the prophecy Isaiah delivered to Judah (Isaiah 29:13)
13 Therefore the Lord said:
“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
We must be cautious to not become hypocrites like the Pharisees or Judah. True relationships build the intimacy with God that you can not get from any doctrine BUT the Lord’s Word!
Being Created New —Starts in a Relationship!
A relationship with Christ is more significant than religion because think about it; when you have a relationship with someone, do you act how you want to or what’s in the best interest of your relationship? Would you continue to do something harmful to hurt your relationship?
I would assume you answered no to those questions; this is the type of mindset that is EXACTLY how you should think about your relationship with Christ.
When I first met my boyfriend, I realized that the former things I did were not conducive to our relationship. He is quiet and self-reserved but I, on the other hand, I would try to be the life of the party and the initiator of worthless drama (which Joy warns us about– see Joy - "Danger of Gossip"). Glory to God for allowing me not to find pleasure in gossip anymore, but the lesson I learned from that decision was that it was more than me just trying to save my relationship… I was being made new!
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not [d]imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. - 2 Corinthians 5:17-19
Starting any new relationship will require adaptation or a change in who we are. In order to change, there must be an adjudgment of the mind (Romans 12:2), heart (Psalms 119:36-37), and perspectives (Isaiah 43:19). Our relationship with Christ promotes this said change, which is why it is so important! He wants us to get to know Him without being clouded by religion but by experiencing His true nature (Psalm 34:8).
Like any other relationship, we must first familiarize ourselves with that person.
For example, my best friend is an introvert but I am an extreme extrovert. I had to get to know her and understand her character which includes when or when not she likes to talk. I had to learn her boundaries and how much they differ from my own being a social butterfly. We also have to do this with God.
WE MUST KNOW GOD. (1 John 2:3)
Scriptures tell us that to know the Lord we must
KNOW His Word (John 1:1)
DO His word (James 1:22-25)
STUDY His Word (2 Timothy 2:15)
TALK to Him (Thessalonians 5:17-18)
HUMBLE and SUBMIT yourself (James 4:7-10)
In conclusion, our RELATIONSHIP with the Lord is something that is imperative for an abundant life (John 15:5), not religion. I challenge you to think about your relationship with God and how you can grow within it!
I pray that all of you reading this devotional will have the urge to put your relationship with the Lord FIRST (Matthew 6:33) and learn to FOLLOW the plans that He has for your life (Proverbs 16:9)! I pray that those who are bound by spirits of religion are freed in Jesus Name (John 8:36). I thank You God for leading me through this devotional and giving me the words, scriptures and concepts to say! I love You and praise Your Holy Name forever!
Amen!