“Ya see, me and the Lord have an understanding.” ~ Joliet Jake Blues
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” ~ 1 John 5:13
Picture if you will a couple that decides to get married. On the surface they appear to love one another so they take the next logical step of making a commitment before friends and family and they “tie the knot.” They enjoy the reception and the words of good luck from well-wishers, but immediately after the ceremony the groom turns to the bride and says; thanks for a great day. Take care and I will check in with you from time to time. Maybe we will get together on the holidays. If I need you I will give you a call. Have a great life.
Sounds pretty ridiculous, right? What bride in her right mind would want to continue on in a relationship like that? Her spouse is disinterested in a committed and mutually beneficial co-habitation. He is totally detached or does not see the need of showing her any devotion, honor, love or respect. He will call on her when the mood strikes, and expect all of his needs to be met and all of his demands answered on his time table. If she asks for any help or on-going attention he bristles that she dares to place any demands on him for time, money or consideration. She is simply there to his advantage, and is to him a commodity to be used. In such a relationship there might come a day when he shows up and she tells him to shove off because their “partnership” is meaningless since they never truly got to know one another or stayed together.
Is this how we view our relationship with God? Do we treat God as a commodity or as our Creator? Often we see Him as a cosmic genie in the bottle; we say prayers like they are three wishes to be granted. We expect God to answer our prayers to our specifications and He better not expect anything from us in return other than a cursory acknowledgement. We get into dire straits and we cry out to Him, but when things are going our way we ignore Him completely.
Maybe we treat or view salvation like a commodity. It is our “fire insurance” and we only dust it off after disaster strikes. We can live life as we please and play with fire never concerned for how this puts us in jeopardy or the likely end result. Then when the flames of problems and the trials of life singe us we want to rely on that old policy that we have let lapse or have misplaced.
When God comes into an individual’s life, through placing our faith and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ, He does not come in as a co-equal partner. He is the Creator, Sustainer and Sovereign Lord and we need to acknowledge Him as King. It is not simply “add God” and then go on with the mindset of “its just business as usual”. The Gospel changes everything. Like the American Express tag line, “Membership has its privileges”, so does being a child of God. But with privilege comes responsibility and some requirements. Requirements that are not burdensome or tedious if we truly grasp how fortunate we are to receive the gift of salvation that we never could earn or deserve.
A relationship with God is not “an understanding” with the “Big Guy Upstairs”. He inspired men to write the Bible so we could have a better understanding of who He is, what are His attributes and what He expects and desires from us. Our relationship with Him is pictured in the New Testament as a marriage. The believer who professes their love for Jesus Christ is the bridegroom that is totally devoted to that relationship. Though at times we are an imperfect mate that is prone to forgetfulness, fickleness and on occasion outright disdain, our groom never waivers in His love or commitment to us. Someone who has placed their faith and trust in Jesus is the bride of Christ and we are complete in Him. He is the source of our total satisfaction, joy and identity. This is not meant to be a lackadaisical or shallow relationship that we jump in and out of when it is convenient or when we are in need.
In John 15:1-25 the key word that is used to describe our relationship with God is the word “abide”. This has with it the idea that a relationship with God is lasting, enduring, ever present and it always remains. God always keeps up His end of the bargain and is constantly abiding, never changing and never failing. We are more like the groom I described earlier and want all of the benefits and none of the responsibilities. We have responsibilities as believers in Christ and in this same passage we are expected to bear fruit. Bearing fruit can be, but is not limited to, desiring to consistently attend church, reading our Bibles and actually living out what it says. It is also seen in godly attitudes (Gal 5:22-23), righteous behavior (Phil 1:11), praise (Heb 13:15) and especially by sharing your faith in Jesus Christ as Messiah and Son of God (Rom 1:13-16).
Don’t delude yourself into thinking the total definition of your Creator is “God is love” and that He simply winks at our sin. God is love but He is also Holy and He cannot tolerate sin. He poured out His wrath on His Son on the cross because of our sin. He will “by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:7). Just like the relationship of a couple should be forever changed when they get married, so too does the dynamic change between man and God after true repentance unto salvation.
If we view God as having no authority or that He has no right to place any expectations on our life then maybe we truly do not have a relationship of saving faith. There is a very sobering passage in Matthew 7:21-23 where Jesus tells His audience that at the final judgment that many people will cry out to Him and say that they did all of these good things in His name. Just like the relationship I described at the onset that is all just a sham, Jesus tells these people in verse 23 to go away, I never knew you and you never truly knew me.
Are we constantly abiding in Christ and are we bearing fruit? Is our relationship with God deep and meaningful or is it just a commodity called on when the mood strikes? If not then maybe we need to reevaluate whether or not we are the devoted spouse or the uncommitted groom. God did not send His Son to die a painful and humiliating death for anything less than our all. There was no lack of commitment on His part when He died on the cross for you and I; we owe Him no less than our best.
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” ~ John 10:10b
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