Is it possible that the modern Christian has put “parameters and limits” to our Creator? I mean we all dress up, get our nice warm cup of joe, put on our happy faces (as we pull into the church parking lot because nothing went right that morning) , attend service, worship, tithe and go home. I am a strong believer of attending and being connected to the body of Christ (definitely not bashing the church) but – why are we so close-minded? Do we have a “surface relationship” or an “intimate relationship?”
When I fully understand something, I tend to get bored with it. It just becomes apart of my routine – becoming thoughtless or second nature. If salvation is the only thing we seek to learn about our Father, we will get bored – not that salvation is boring at ALL but it’s the first step. God has called us yes, to first MEET Him, ACCEPT Him and then KNOW Him. You can a l w a y s learn something new about someone, always.
When I say “be curious” I don’t mean questioning God’s Word because what’s written,stands. Be curious about your Creator, what He likes and what he doesn’t. You wouldn’t buy your husband a Duke jersey if he’s a Tarheel fan (that would be a nightmare in my case) It’s a relationship, not a list of do’s and don’ts. We all know a “that Christian” who preaches all the things you “can’t do” but why not be curious about the things you “can do?” Yes I believe the entire Word of God should be preached and that there are things you shouldn’t participate in but to me it sounds like a shallow relationship, focusing on don’ts.
Let’s play this scenario out into a marriage – it would be like constantly telling your spouse, you can’t look at that woman, you can’t have thoughts about another man, you can’t sleep around, you can’t have a hobby – you don’t have time, you can’t be alone with another woman, you can’t have coffee with another man, you can’t, you can’t…. boundaries should be set (according to God’s word) and reviewed BUT how shallow would this relationship be? It’s merely a list of “don’ts.” There’s no intimacy. There are no ebbs and flow. There’s no room for “love or trust” because you feel as if you’re walking on eggshells waiting to mess up. It’s bound by force, rules and regulations. Our God is a God of FREEDOM and LOVE.
1 Corinthians 13 The Message
1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
11 When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
12 We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
God desires us to love and walk in freedom. 1 Corinthian’s makes it clear that we are to love and to put away “childish thinking” – which to me is do’s and don’ts.
We should strive to be relational and have conversation with our Creator. Think of it this way, toddlers don’t sit still long. Yes, they can engage in conversation but it’s usually pretty direct and predictable. Now fast-forward twenty years and you can sit and focus for a much longer period of time. Not only that but you can enter deep conversation and even tap into emotions (multiple ones) We should never feel as if we aren’t “good enough” to go deeper with our Father. He DESIRES us to be holy as He is holy. (1 Peter 1:16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”)
Ask God questions. Ask Him to show you how to deepen your relationship with Him (moving forward from infancy in Christianity – pursuing holiness – life and what to do after salvation, it doesn’t just stop there. We never reach a “final destination” here on Earth.
Father, thank You for salvation. Thank You for giving the BEST gift ever given. I pray You will help me to open my mind to walk deeper with You. I pray You will help me to not have a “surface” relationship but to have an “intimate” relationship. I want to KNOW you. I desire to live a deeper life of holiness. No one knows the answer to everything You do or have done – God help me to stay curious, desiring to know and learn more and more. Help me not to have a spirit of contentedness but stretch my knowledge and deepen my walk with You. Thank You God for the freedom that comes in my walk with You. Amen.
xoxo,
Jess Fox
JessFox 