God doesn’t belong in a box, especially fashioned by human thinking! That box being of course what I call man-made doctrines. Psuedo-biblical, human centered and woefully inadequate to pave the way to a real relationship with Christ, and hence God the father.

Man-made doctrines, principles and viewpoints give you a sense of “religion” but falls extrememly short on “relationship”.

Jesus Christ, you know, God on earth, tells us in Matthew that we are to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. In case you are following along, that is all about relationship. Christ, when in His last hours before His death on the cross, was praying for His disciples, He told them they were His friends. Again relationship. And when He talked of His sheep hearing His voice, again it was about relationship.

Do you see a pattern here?

I always have said that the greatest deterrent to Christianity was other “christians” (due note the small ‘c’). That many Christians, if not most, are not Christians at all. Now I do believe in the basic tenets of faith, and the Word of God as written. I believe that many of the things we are not supposed to do are really what we are not supposed to do. Period. But the why we do or do not a thing is as important to our living as the the things themselves.

Christ spoke of the Pharisee’s love to stand on the street corner and pray for all men to see. It was the reward they were seeking—to be seen of men. But I have heard deep, faith-filled prayers by those who were sincerely petitioning the throne of God, and they were quite eloquent. However, they were praying for God’s ears alone and were not even really aware of anyone else.

The difference was the intent of the heart.

I have always taken note that God searches the heart, not the acts of men, as a true barometer of the person to where they stood in their faith, or the lack thereof. It is the heart that defines our actions, our feelings, our thoughts and most assuredly who we really are. That is why one many do something wrong and reap full measure of the consequences and another do the same thing and seeming live unscathed.

It’s all in the intent of the heart.

The heart, and the love it does or does not hold, for God, for others, for anything, is the first cause of all things in our lives. The how and the why of it you might say. I look to the heart of a person (which in and of itself takes the passage of time) and how they respond in life. I have two best friends, one very much walking a true walk of faith, the other rough hewn and still finding his spiritual footing. Both genuine, both loving, but each with very differing lives.

Both with hearts of gold.

So it’s not in what a person does, unless it’s truly ungodly and sinful, but in the desire to do what is right, to love and care deeply, and above all else to have a real and meaningful relationship with their maker. Theirs alone is the relationship, unique, separate and apart, though He is the maker of us all. And in that place of relationship with God, none can stand for another, none can judge another’s walk, and none can speak on God’s behalf on what He wants of them personally.

And with that I can truly relate!

Be blessed, be loved and be at peace.

Jonathan

Related Posts

1. Who is our brother and sister in Christ?
   As always one is to watch for the FRUITS of the spirit—not the claims of faith. Words are just that, words. Christ said in John that we are to love one another, so is that being expressed by the person...
2. Knowing God… a call to relationship!
   Be still and know that I am God… We must learn to think upon the Lord, talk with Him, actively love and serve Him. In other words, build a relationship with Him. How can we know Him, instead of about...
3. Who, what and how God is, in relationship to His children
   The truths of God are very simple. It is man himself that complicates the things of God. And of course, loses his way in the doing so. But some concepts are foundational to our beliefs, and our faith, and need...
4. Kingdom living is in the here and now!
   Oft times we forget that we are children of God. The usual mindset is that we are Christians and walk in our faith. This is true, but we have a more real and personal relationship with God that we can...
5. Is it zeal or something else?
   We as Christians are admonished to have a zeal for the faith. But as Paul says in Romans 10:1-3: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record...

Comments are closed.