Enjoy the Relationship
When you became a Christian in
trusting repentance you were baptised into union with the name of Christ
or "into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." (See Matthew
28:19 and Galatians 3:26-27.) What does that mean? It means a lot of
things but it certainly means that you entered into a relation with God.
It means that you pledged your heart's allegiance to God but it means
you are "in union" with Christ, that you are one with him. You didn't
join a club or sign up for some study course. Like the rest of us you
were God's child who went astray and the gracious Lord sought you out in
Christ and brought you back into oneness with him (the Bible calls that
renewed relationship "reconciliation").
God had never ceased loving any of us (no exceptions whatever!) so
his task was not to begin to love us but to draw us back to him where
his love could express itself in forgiveness and a host of other
gracious realities. But it wasn't a place he drew us to or a situation
or a condition--it wasn't anything like that. He drew us back to
himself! God called Abraham from Ur and Haran to Canaan (Genesis 11:31--12:1) and he called Israel out of Egypt to mount Sinai but in reality, as he told Israel in Exodus 19:4, he brought them to himself. These weren't geographical moves as much as they were movements of the soul to fellowship with God.
himself! God called Abraham from Ur and Haran to Canaan (Genesis 11:31--12:1) and he called Israel out of Egypt to mount Sinai but in reality, as he told Israel in Exodus 19:4, he brought them to himself. These weren't geographical moves as much as they were movements of the soul to fellowship with God.
You have begun your Christian life because God wooed and won you and
brought you back to him! Jesus spoke of the cross and said, "But I, when
I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." (John
12:32) You're not engaged here in a trial of intellectual or religious
strength and it's not a test you pass so that God will grant you a
status.
Words like "status" and "position" and "place" are good words but
they aren't big enough to cover all the truths. Well, in fact, no one
word can do that. However we think of ourselves before God we need to
see ourselves as the children he loves ceaselessly. We were wayward
children that he came in search of and brought us back to himself and to
his home.
You are related to God your Holy Father. You're Christ's friend. This
being true you'll find you're more sensitive to your sin and more
anxious to please--that's true enough but that will be because the
friendship already exists. God has befriended us in Jesus Christ. The
astonishing truth is that the Holy Father really likes us. So rejoice in
that and let the joy of the Lord be your strength.