Do You Have the One Thing God Is Looking For?
Christianity is unlike any other world religion in its emphasis on the presence of a viable, intimate relationship with our God. Buddhism, for example, emphasizes peace through the detachment of one’s affections for earthly possession, but one is never encouraged to develop an intimate bond with god.
Not so in Christianity. In fact, the whole reason for the sacrifice of Christ was to provide a means of restoring the intimate relationship with God that was broken by the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
The terms used in the New Testament in reference to our position to God are relational terms. One of those such terms is “reconciled” which is used quite often by the Apostle Paul.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NASB
18Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Paul doesn’t say that God was in Christ, providing a means for us to skip out on damnation in the afterlife. Or that God was in Christ, providing a means for us to give our money to him in hopes of getting favor in our finances. Neither does Paul say that God was in Christ, working it out that we as a nation might become a world power economically, politically, and militaristically.
Instead, Paul reminds us that God was in Christ for the express purpose of restoring the intimate relationship that became estranged in the Garden. From the beginning, this is what God has always been after. Us. God wants us. He wants a relationship with us. He had it with Adam and Eve. He had it with righteous Abel. He had it with Enoch, Moses, Abraham, King David, and so forth.
And the beauty of what Christ did for us on the Cross is that, in addition to positioning us for our eternal inheritance in Glory, His sacrifice built a bridge for our estranged relationship with God to be restored to a status not known by man since the Garden of Eden.
We see a beautiful picture of this when the veil in the Temple, upon the drawing of the last breath of Christ, was ripped from top to bottom. The opening of this veil that separated humanity from a Holy God was removed and in Christ, all are now able to enter into the Holiest of Holies and walk with God in an unfettered intimate manner.
You might be already ahead of me in your thinking as you dialogue with yourself, saying: Okay, that whole intimacy with God thing is an option for those touchy-feely people. But emotionally distant tough guys and gals like me need not apply. I’m good with God as long as I can keep Hm arm’s length, thank you very much. We might run into a problem, however, if He expects me to start closing the emotional distance and move toward intimacy.
If that’s your thinking, you do have a problem.
In Matthew chapter seven, Jesus tells us why.
Matthew 7:22-23 NASB
22“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
In this case, Jesus was not judging the viability of worshiper in follower in question on spiritual performance metrics, but on the quality of the worshippers relationship with his or her God.
Jesus didn’t say, “Listen, I’ve got your performance sheet here and you just didn’t hit the numbers pal. You didn’t perform enough miracles. You didn’t pray enough hours, fast enough meals, attend enough church services. I’m sure you’re a great girl, but I cannot accept you into Glory.”
In fact, these people in question did hit all the numbers. They prophesied, cast out demons, and performed miracles all in His name. The sticking point wasn’t inferior spiritual metrics, but inferior intimacy.
And the same is true of you and me. God is not going to accept or reject us based on the volume of our spiritual production for Him but on the quality of our relationship with Him.
God wants us. Plain and simple.
Are you willing to give him what He wants?