Relationship
We always say it’s not Religion it’s a Relationship, sometimes I wonder what do we mean when we say this?
I have been thinking alot about this lately, and trying to compare my relationship with Karen to the one I have with Jesus. One of the things I have realized is that doing things for Jesus is often alot different than doing things for Karen, when I am doing thimgs for Jesus i feel like I am checking off a list, and yet with Karen I feel like I am doing something for someone I love?
I wonder where, or when did I lose the relational part of my relationship with Jesus?…..to serve Jesus sometimes feels like a chore, but to serve Karen (especially now) feels like an expression of love. To talk with Jesus sometimes seems forced or formulized, but to talk with Karen feels like a dip in a stream on a hot summer day. Sometimes if I am being honest I avoid sin because I dont want to lose my place, or reputation not to avoid sinning against the Lord….. “against you alone have I sinned o Lord”
however i avoid adultery because I love Karen and would never want to hurt her.
I think it is very easy for us as believers to substitute a list of rules, or an expected way of behavior for A Love for the Lord and a desire to know and be known by Him …….recently i read these words…”the predominate characteristic shared by humans is the insane need to compare themselves to each other”……not only do I believe that to be true, i also believe it is a big reason why we tend to overlook thr relational aspect of our Christianity
If I spend all of my time looking at me and how I stack up to everyone around guess what?…..I am not “looking unto Jesus”
What I want to do is to try and remember that I Love Jesus, and have the things that I do (and avoid doing) come from Love and not from duty. I want to live as if it really is all about a Relationship…….i am interseted in any thoughts you may have on this subject of relationship?
Hey Jeff,
I feel an emotional love for Jesus when I sense His grace being poured out on me. It may be that I have not walked closely to Him, but He blesses my efforts to serve Him, and I see the fruit of those efforts. It may be that I am facing something much bigger than me, and His grace lifts me up and carries me along.
Jesus did say, “If you love Me, obey My commandments”, and so obedience is a display of love, but obedience can be robotic and without feeling.
I sense His love most when I see the blessings of my life, and feel His forgiveness for my failures. There’s much more of course, but there are a few thoughts.
Bill, we sing a song that features the words “I wear forgiveness like a crown” and every time we sing it I am reminded of how Jesus has taken my failures and redeemed them. it reminds me of His words…”whoever falls upon this rock will be broken, but upon whomever this rock falls it will grind him to powder”
Hey Jeff,
I saw your post on PP, and I just wanted to let you know I’ll be praying for you. I think, we are a lot alike. I have the same passion for marriage as you. I really don’t understand how Christian marriages have the same divorce rate as non-Christian. I just try to have more passion for my marriage and family than anything else besides my Lord. If men would just put the same passion they do into work,golf,sports… into their marriage a lot of problems would be solved.
jeff (has anyone ever told you…. you have a cool name.:)
Jeff,
and its weird that we have alot of stuf in common……I have recently been doing a 4 week marraige class at Church…….I wanted to do something different so i chose topics 1. spiritual relationship 2. communication 3. sex 4 assorted issues……..and the format is part one where i share about the topic using various verses and then we pass out sheets to be filled out ….then in part two I kind of interact with the couples answers to the questions……(it kinda sounds dumb as I type it out but its been fun!)
thanks so much for the kind words,and its kinda cool to have a twin in cyberspace
anyway all of that to say that I do love marraige and want to do all I can to strengthen the marraiges i come in contact with…..blessings
Jeff,
That’s awesome! Are you recording it? I think this is one of the most critical issues in the church.
1) One of the reasons my marriage is so strong is…. my wife and I share the same passion for our Lord. We love serving him together.
2) Communication- Critical! Phil 2:3 1Thes 5:11 Matt. 7:12 Eph 4:26, 4:31, 5:33 Mark 10:8 Matt 7:3 James 1:19 & 3:16 to name a few.:)
3) Sex- Just as critical as 1 & 2 :)
4) other issues….. man to many to talk about. love languages very important. hedges for men and women very important.
Peace.
Jmgcmg, thank you for the comment and yes they are recorded and podcasted at calvarypv.org so far we have 3 up #4 is coming this week
Awesome! I’ll check it out.
jeff
ok cool let me know what you think when your done
Hey Jeff,
My wife and I just finished the first two series on sex and it was awesome! Very transparent and VERY critical for the church. I can see why Ryan says, ‘you are the funniest guy he knows.” We have a great sex life, and we do some marriage counseling and the part about sex & selfishness I never thought about. My natural love language is to serve, so I’ve always been more about what she likes than me. BUT, this is a huge problem in marriages,and I never really thought about it. Also, the part about being the spiritual leader in the bedroom was good. I never really correlated being the spiritual leader to the bedroom. I’ll definitely use that one. ie the servant leader of your home/bedroom.:)
jeff
Jeff,
super glad you and your bride enjoyed those sessions!