Where do you think you are in your relationship with the Lord? Better yet, what does the living God think of your relationship?
Being a Christian is more than a name; it’s a relationship.
An authentic Christian is in fellowship with the Holy One. It’s
There are three kinds of relationships between humankind and God: estranged, long-distance, or intimate. Where are you?
Estranged?
The saddest place for the soul is an estranged relationship with the Holy. It’s not that God stands far off; it’s that we are enemies—aliens. He draws near, but we run away. We curse His name and wonder why we feel helpless, hopeless, and homeless.
We do not know God or care to know Him. His love, mercy, and kindness or foreign to us.
We breathe, but our breaths are shallow because our lives are empty. There is no victory in the rebel yell, and we are the walking dead.
Long-distant?
This relationship is shallow. It’s a long-distance relationship. We’re not enemies, but we’re not friends either. Our knowledge is limited, and our souls may touch the Holy perhaps once or twice a week, if we think about it.
He moves to touch our souls, and we sit in the pew motionless. We know the songs of praise and worship, but God is far from our hearts.
The Holy speaks, yet we turn a deaf ear as we continue to look for signs of His presence. We’re saved, and the ticket to heaven is all there is. We don’t think we need fellowship. He’s preparing a place for us to be with Him in paradise. Are we ready for that place?
It matters not to us that when we meet Jesus face-to-face, we will be strangers. We hear something, but we’re not sure if it’s His voice or the voice of another. The echoes of the Holy go over our head.
Such a long-distance relationship hurts our souls and breaks God’s heart.
Intimate?
“forgetting what lies behind and straining toward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 ESV
Philippians 3:13-14 ESV
Of all the relationships, this one is the purest form of fellowship with the Holy. Such a relationship, God treasures. An intimate relationship is rare, but not impossible.
We live in the shadow of His presence, for His voice whispers in our ear words of love, encouragement, mercy, and guidance. He is faithful to guide us, and we are in harmony with His will. The echoes of the Holy come refreshingly, which sets our feet on the right path.
We bow in reverence and awe of the living God. In Christ Jesus, reconciled, and in the Holy Spirit, known by name. It is intimate because it’s a cultivated love relationship.
This is our declaration of dependence: the yielded heart always relinquishes all rights to self. This declaration liberates us from self to enter the abundant life with God.
He who breathed life into our souls is here. He is as near as the breath we breathe and as close as the beating of our heart.
Salvation is more than a ticket to heaven.
God saved us, and that is when the relationship begins, and He invites us to daily fellowship. We are no longer estranged. We reconciled with the Holy. Fellowship with the Holy is the essence of our faith and the heart of our relationship. W
We are not living like the walking dead, but moving in harmony with the Living God. He speaks, we listen; we pray – He listens.
Now it is our turn to cultivate this love relationship. We can choose to draw near or keep Him at arm’s length. How can He guide, teach, protect, and lead us into right living if we so easily separate ourselves from Him until we might need Him?
Sadly, day by day, the number of long-distance Christians increases as they limp through their Christian life when they should be singing and dancing with the Lord.
I invite you to join me here at “Echoes of the Holy” as we embark on this intimate journey to the heart of God each day.
Blessings,
