I feel that, as American Christians, we have done a disservice to those we are trying to reach, and we are now seeing a continual exodus from the church because of that. That disservice is how we talk about a relationship with Jesus to others.
There are two ways I continually see a relationship with Jesus being talked about. The first is Jesus is like fire insurance. Don’t want to go to hell? Just accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you are good! Boom! No hell for you… oh yeah and follow all these rules about how you need to look and act to really make sure you don’t go to hell! In this relationship God is seen as a dictator. You MUST follow “His” rules (I say that tongue in cheek) or burn in hellfire for eternity. It makes it feel as though God is constantly watching, waiting for any little slip up so that he can punish us. All of this simply is not true.
The other way I constantly see a relationship with Jesus described as is as a friendship. Doesn’t that give you the warm fuzzies? Being a friend of God just sounds nice. It sounds easy. It’s someone I met on the street and text every so often. No real commitment needed on my part because I have a friend that will never leave me! It doesn’t matter what I do! It’s awesome! I dont need to change who I am or what I do! There is no real commitment! It is so easy! No rules, no consequences, just friendship! (dont get me started on how a vast majority of us have an abusive friendship with God… ill write about that another day)
But neither of these things is what our relationship with God is called to look like. Worrying about slipping up and the ensuing hellfire is tiring. You are constantly on edge just trying as hard as you can not to mess up. Being a friend is just so casual, it is really easy to pick up and put down whenever it is convenient. There is no real commitment. Neither of these pictures is the relationship that we are called to in the Bible.
In Matthew 16:24 Jesus paints a very simple picture of what it means to have a relationship with Him.
“Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”
Jesus didn’t call people to a life of fearing Him. He didn’t call people to a life of warm fuzzies and constant hugs. We are called to take up our cross and follow in His footsteps. This requires work. This requires sacrifice. This requires life change. Jesus is there ahead of us, blazing a trail for us to follow. Picking us up and dusting us off when we fall, but continually pushing us to pursue something greater than ourselves.
When we talk about a relationship with God only in terms of it saving us from hell, we do a disservice by selling fear. God didn’t call us to have a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
When we talk about a relationship with God as just being friends, we fall so short of what it actually is. It makes it sound easy to pick up and put down whenever it’s convenient… and most of the time it’s not convenient to pick up that friendship!
A true relationship with God is a life long life changing experience. It’s a call to more. It’s a call to greater things. In some ways it is a call to an easier life, in others it’s a call to a harder life. It’s a call to wake up every morning and ask God to show us His way, and for Him to give us the strength to pursue it. It’s a call to more.
Let me tell you my life would be SO MUCH EASIER if I decided to just have a friendship with God… But my life is so much more fulfilling because I chose daily (ok… lets be honest not every day… but I try) to pick up my cross and follow Him, striving be more like Him every day. To be His Disciple, to be His apprentice.
