Recently I just finished reading “The Shack” by WB Young. It really got me thinking about a lot of things, but most importantly my relationship with God. I think way too often, we as “Christians” put our reationship with God in a box in a way that always comes down to rules, guilt, and spiritual rituals. I found myself in that boat. Everything I did wasn’t centered aroud God but based on Him. I think thats the problem. That we try to equivilate everything to God, which is impossible. I don’t think He wants us to make everything conformed to Him, but He wants us to be so tight with Him that everything we do coinsides with Him. I got to thinking about how we live our lives. I am starting to learn to hate the “what would Jesus do?” bracelets. God does not call us TO BE Jesus but TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP with Him. Does that make sense? He wants us to be in such a relationship with JC that we have a heart like His, that we see like Him, so that we are not doing things out of forced rules but out of pure love. I don’t think I can fully understand God’s love if I am willing to separate Himself from me, if I’m willing to put Him in His own little corner of my world. I like to “put God first” when it’s convienent for my life or my time. The main thing I was getting from this book is that we need to get back to the place where we first come to know God, and forget all the preconceived notions we have about Him and how being a Christian works. I am now convinced that the word “Christian” is a verb. It is the literal meaning of Christ in us, love flowing in and through. Claiming to be Christians is a big name we put on ourselves. People don’t see what that is unless we are intentional about letting Jesus take control of our lives and therefore letting our words and action be an overflow of that. For me, “The Shack” was a wake up call. It took me back to realizing that I was making my relationship with God a burden or an obligation. It reaffirmed the love of God in my life, even when I didn’t trust God to be God. It also made me see the importance of forgiveness, and not just forgiveness of sin by God, but forgiveness to others in our lives, to help tear down walls we have put up. One of my favorite parts of the book is when the main character Mack is with God at the shack, and gets a chance to meet his father for the first time since he had died. There were many issues between Mack and his Dad but when he was able to see through the eyes of Jesus, he ran and embraced his father, as tears were exchanged and forgiveness overtook their relationship right there. When Mack is asked to forgive one more person in his life (the killer of his daughter) he is very stand-offish. He in no way thought he would be able to forgive the man that kidnapped and murdered his daughter. Jesus explained the concept of forgiveness to him again, in a way that he had never heard it. Forgiving does not mean ever forgetting, but taking your hands from someone’s neck because you have been trying to choke them the whole time and not letting go. Jesus explains the forgivness of God and how important that is so a relationship can take place between us and holy God, and how this was all possible because of Jesus and the love that He exemplifed on the cross.
Bottom line: Being in a relationship with God is not about rituals and rules, but about love and letting God be the center of every part of our lives. This has really changed the way my relationship with JC has worked these past couple weeks, which carries over into everyday life.
I know this is a lot, and a bunch of random thoughts, but sorry thats how I roll.
Cheers,
Brandon
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished, he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”-Romans 3:23-26
