Your Need

I realize with my last post on transformation that many of you don't see a need for transformation. Many of you are saying, "I'm a pretty good person, I go to church, I pay my tithes, I'm not perfect, but my life is good." You read your Bible here and there, you pray here and there, you don't see a big need to spend more time.

I was visiting with a friend the other day and she was describing her walk with God, saying it's getting a lot closer. She described many of her years that she just didn't really see her need for God. She was saved, she went to church every week, but she wasn't conscious of her need.

Another friend of mine describes her life, for the most part, as being fairly smooth, a life with bumps, but none too great that she could not solve in her own strength. She says,

"That is not to say I didn't have a good relationship with God. I did. I just didn't feel the need to rely on Him for my daily strength. He was a wonderful add-on to my life; an important part but not the only part. In fact, being married had actually decreased my dependence on God. Honestly, [my husband] had become my all-in-all; and Jesus was someone we taught our kids about and someone we worshipped on Sundays."

Is God an add-on to your life? Or is He your all-in-all? Is Jesus someone you teach your kids about and worship on Sunday? Or is He the reason you are who you are, the reason you can get up each day, the reason you can do anything you do?

This occurred to me while I was finishing up my post on Transformation, that a large group of you are very content to leave God on the sidelines, fitting Him in conveniently to your life here and there.

It is my passion to communicate to you what an incredible thing you're missing out on. Daily time in God's Word will change your life, but what if you don't see the need for change? I guess there's not much I can say.

Or perhaps I'm too focused on the intellectual pursuit of study and that turns people off. Perhaps I need to communicate more of the relationship side of Christianity. I admit, I LOVE to learn. And Bible study, as an educational pursuit, is my passion. So maybe I need to change my approach a bit.

I just finished reading Beyond Belief to Conviction by Josh McDowell. This part really stuck out to me (it is not a direct quote, I have paraphrased):

You are saved and so you belong to God--you are adopted into His family. Jesus says, "I know you and love you so very much, just for who you are. I know every thought and motive, every desire of your heart. I even took on human flesh and tasted first-hand all the joys and pains of the life you lead. But...I want you to know me."

God doesn't want you to go to his Word to simply learn the rules of the Christian life. The Word is not just to inspire you to live better, He wants you to see His Word as an open door to His heart, a way to know Him for who He is.

Do you want to know Him? If you don't even care about change or transformation, if you are really quite happy in your life, do you at least want to get to know God? Would it hurt you if your child didn't care anything about getting to know you? What if your child just looked at you as a ticket to things, to toys, to college, to a car, etc.? That is how a lot of us view God. He is our ticket to heaven, we only come to Him when we need things. Other than that, we don't want to get to know Him. But He wants you to know Him, so much so, that this is the primary reason He sent His Son to die, to remove the barrier between you and Him, your sin. This is the very reason He's given us His Word, to reveal Himself to us. So that we can know Him. It's all about relationship. It starts now, we don't wait till we get to heaven.

Ponder these verses.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Thus says the LORD:
“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness,

judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

Psalm 95:10-11

The Israelites did now know God, so they did not enter His rest. (Canaan--this is the victorious, abundant Christian life, not heaven.) [My paraphrase.]

Jeremiah 24:7

Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life. [And what is eternal life? It is not living forever, but knowing God! See below.]

John 17:1-3

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He shall give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

It is all about relationship. How's your relationship with Him? Is it a daily pursuit, or weekly, or just every once in a while, or just when you need something? Don't wait until crisis hits, to start building that relationship.