Why are Christians different?
I write a lot about Christians being different, how we are supposed to be a light to this world and not blend in.. but as I finished writing the previous post I started thinking.. what is our motivation? What is it exactly that makes us different? I know the answer to that question for myself, but can I explain it? Can I put it into words?
That's the hard part. At least for me it is.
I wish that just for a minute you could get a snapshot of what my relationship with the Lord feels like. I wish you could feel how I feel for him. I don't use myself as an example out of pride. I know others who have intimacy with the Lord also. In truth, I am a poor role model, I still have so much to learn and I stumble and fall more often than I walk the straight and narrow. I am far from perfect.
Picture the greatest romance you could ever imagine. Better than Edward and Bella, better than Beauty and the Beast, better than any real life or movie romance you have ever seen or experienced. Now multiply that feeling, that intimacy, that passion, by infinity. That, is what intimacy with the Lord is like. Intimacy with him is a relationship where nothing I do can make him love me any more than he already does. Nothing I do can make him love me and less either. There is no end to his love.
Add to that the fact that Father God is the ultimate provider. The ultimate protector. The perfect Father. He is the perfect everything really.. and He chose you. He chose me. He chose us imperfect human beings to lavish His love on. If you really want to get into it, think about how God knew from the very beginning that when he created us we would reject him. He chose to create Adam and Eve anyways. Why? Because of His incredible love for us. God sees the big picture, and he values us enough to go through everything that we put him through. In a way, we owe him big time. But God never calls up our debt to him. He never forces us to love or worship him. He woos us to him like a man woos a woman. We can't help but fall in love with him.
My relationship with the Lord is the most powerful entity in my world. Everything centers around Him. Nothing even comes close to comparing. There are no words to explain how he makes me feel, how much I love him.
What I just wrote doesn't even come close to describing how amazing a relationship with the Lord is. You can only know by experiencing it for yourself. It isn't easy. If you read my previous posts you can see that I struggle. A LOT. I wrote previously that our walk with the Lord is like floating in a river. If you aren't actively swimming against the current, you are actively floating away from the Lord. It's like that even in human relationships. Think about it.. marriages don't work because the couple does nothing. Marriages work because the couple are actively seeking each other. They are actively working at making the relationship work. Any relationship in life takes upkeep. So yes, it's hard. It's one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. But is also the BEST thing I have ever done and the BEST thing I ever will do in my life. In Christ I live and move and have my being! (Acts 17:28)
So, here's another challenge. If you don't already have a relationship with Christ, I challenge you to start one. It won't be easy, it will be really hard actually, it's not a part time job but a full time job with some overtime thrown in. But His love is so extravagant and so incredibly worth all of it. =) Didn't someone once say that nothing worth having is easy? =)
I hope this helps... I never want to come across as being legalistic or as making Christianity a set of rules. It's not about rules. It's about a relationship with Jesus. When you love someone, you want to do what pleases them. It becomes about loving God back and not about following a bunch of rules. =) So when I write blogs like the previous one where I challenge other Christians to be different, it's because our relationship with Christ makes us different. It's supposed to be that way. So why would we ever want to blend in when we have something so great?
Thanks for reading. I am blessed just by writing these, and I hope you are blessed by reading them. =)
-Jessie
That's the hard part. At least for me it is.
I wish that just for a minute you could get a snapshot of what my relationship with the Lord feels like. I wish you could feel how I feel for him. I don't use myself as an example out of pride. I know others who have intimacy with the Lord also. In truth, I am a poor role model, I still have so much to learn and I stumble and fall more often than I walk the straight and narrow. I am far from perfect.
Picture the greatest romance you could ever imagine. Better than Edward and Bella, better than Beauty and the Beast, better than any real life or movie romance you have ever seen or experienced. Now multiply that feeling, that intimacy, that passion, by infinity. That, is what intimacy with the Lord is like. Intimacy with him is a relationship where nothing I do can make him love me any more than he already does. Nothing I do can make him love me and less either. There is no end to his love.
Add to that the fact that Father God is the ultimate provider. The ultimate protector. The perfect Father. He is the perfect everything really.. and He chose you. He chose me. He chose us imperfect human beings to lavish His love on. If you really want to get into it, think about how God knew from the very beginning that when he created us we would reject him. He chose to create Adam and Eve anyways. Why? Because of His incredible love for us. God sees the big picture, and he values us enough to go through everything that we put him through. In a way, we owe him big time. But God never calls up our debt to him. He never forces us to love or worship him. He woos us to him like a man woos a woman. We can't help but fall in love with him.
My relationship with the Lord is the most powerful entity in my world. Everything centers around Him. Nothing even comes close to comparing. There are no words to explain how he makes me feel, how much I love him.
What I just wrote doesn't even come close to describing how amazing a relationship with the Lord is. You can only know by experiencing it for yourself. It isn't easy. If you read my previous posts you can see that I struggle. A LOT. I wrote previously that our walk with the Lord is like floating in a river. If you aren't actively swimming against the current, you are actively floating away from the Lord. It's like that even in human relationships. Think about it.. marriages don't work because the couple does nothing. Marriages work because the couple are actively seeking each other. They are actively working at making the relationship work. Any relationship in life takes upkeep. So yes, it's hard. It's one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. But is also the BEST thing I have ever done and the BEST thing I ever will do in my life. In Christ I live and move and have my being! (Acts 17:28)
So, here's another challenge. If you don't already have a relationship with Christ, I challenge you to start one. It won't be easy, it will be really hard actually, it's not a part time job but a full time job with some overtime thrown in. But His love is so extravagant and so incredibly worth all of it. =) Didn't someone once say that nothing worth having is easy? =)
I hope this helps... I never want to come across as being legalistic or as making Christianity a set of rules. It's not about rules. It's about a relationship with Jesus. When you love someone, you want to do what pleases them. It becomes about loving God back and not about following a bunch of rules. =) So when I write blogs like the previous one where I challenge other Christians to be different, it's because our relationship with Christ makes us different. It's supposed to be that way. So why would we ever want to blend in when we have something so great?
Thanks for reading. I am blessed just by writing these, and I hope you are blessed by reading them. =)
-Jessie
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