 Ciara Lilly is a Charlotte-area writer. Her faith-based column, Fishers of Men, is published here each Monday. Opinions expressed are solely her own. |
This weekend I had the opportunity to attend a Joyce Meyer conference in Winston-Salem. Like many others, I have been richly blessed by her ministry. As a matter of fact, one of the first books I read as a new believer was “Battlefield of the Mind,” which I highly recommend. So to actually see her in person was an amazing experience. But even more amazing were the thousands of people who came to spend quality time with God.
As I sat in the midst of this experience, I thought to myself: “What if more people were determined to have a radical relationship with God, a relationship where we really spent quality time with Him?”
Just think about the relationships you have with your loved ones. You enjoy spending time with them; you talk to them about everything; you care to make them happy. Not a day goes by that you don’t think about them.
But what about our relationship with God? Do we seek to give Him quality time aside of the obligatory Sunday worship? Do we seek conversation with God, or are we conditioned to talk to God only about our problems and our wants?
Let’s be honest; if one of your loved ones called only to discuss problems or to ask for something, it wouldn’t be long before you started ignoring their calls, right? So if that’s unacceptable in our natural relationships with our loved ones, why do we approach God in that manner?
Ephesians 1:4-7 (AMP) states:
“Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love. For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]—[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor.”
So, when you think about how God created us because he sought a relationship with us, how can we then settle for a long-distance relationship? How can we allow ourselves to think that this relationship is earned due to our acts of righteousness? It’s not! The blood of Jesus provided us with an eternal relationship with Our Father.
As you go through this week, examine the relationship you have with your Father; really seek to give Him more of your time. You can develop a radical, committed relationship with Him today! Just start by spending more time with Him. You can spend this time reading the Bible, praying, worshipping or just talking about things on your mind. Then gradually work on making this a way of life. I promise, it’ll be the best relationship you’ve ever had!
