Belonging in a healthy relationship w/ God...

        Today I  continue my series of posts on our mission at Mountain Lake Church. Part of our mission at MLC is helping people "belong in a healthy relationship with God and others." The key to belonging then, whether it's our relationship with God or others is  healthy relationships.  Why is this important? We tend to make our lives about everything BUT relationships. We make our lives about achievement, acquisitions, accomplishments, but rarely do we TRULY make relationship our top priority.
        Even in our relationship with God, we tend to place our service or devotion or pursuit of holiness (being a good person), OVER just pursuing an honest, intimate relationship with Jesus. So many Christians have replaced relationship for religious busyness, and that's why so many of our churches are dead! It's nothing new. Jesus said to the church at Ephesus, 2000 years ago:   "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love" Revelation 2:2-4 (NIV).
        Do you see it? For the last 2000 years our tendency as Christians has been to become religious at the expense of our relationship with God! By the way, I feel the tension, I have often told Mountain Lakers that my greatest temptation is not to running off with another woman or stealing the church's offerings, but rather, substituting what I do FOR God, for what I need to be WITH God.
        This is why, as churches, we MUST hold up RELATIONSHIP as the number one value in the life of the Christian.  Not service. Not holiness.  Not standing up for what is right. Not having the right friends. Not coming to church. Not reading the Bible. Not attending lots of Bible studies. Not abstinence from sex, alcohol, tobacco, and rock music. Relationship. Relationship has got to be the most important thing. And of all the relationships in the world, our relationship with God has got to be the most prized one.
        We MUST value and pursue and honest, intimate, consistent relationship with God. We must teach people how to personally connect with God. To feed themselves spiritually and not depend upon a new Bible class or sermon to get their next spiritual fix. We must unclutter our church activities and programs and simplify it all until belonging in a healthy relationship with God bubbles up out of everything we do.
        We must practice what we preach. We must get up early before ANYONE gets up, so we can have some quiet time alone with  God, hear Him speak to us, and share our hearts with Him. We must not get so caught up in all of the other pursuits of life that we neglect what matters most to God: belonging in a healthy relationship with God. Having a healthy relationship with us matters so much to God, that He was willing to allow His Son to die for it!
        So as difficult as it is, I will continually relentlessly remove the clutter from my life and my church until belonging becomes and remains the foundation, and I will fight to keep it that way. I will prize my relationship with God over every other pursuit on my life, realizing that I can't belong in a healthy relationships with others, or become more like Jesus Christ, until I first belong in a healthy relationship with God!

Comments

[Will Henderson]

Thanks for the timely reminder Shawn. I need to be reminded of the truth of Jesus every day. God even says we must encourage each other in our relationship with Jesus every day... so that our hearts don't turn away from the living God. Keep sharing and living it mate, it's making a difference in so many peoples lives!!

[Ed Colon]

Thanks Shawn, removing clutter is something I have been trying to figure out in my head for a while now.