I want you to use your imagination and picture a scene before you. There is only one person there. There are no other objects; nothing else to detract from the scene. This person is a Christian. He or she is kneeling, hands hanging down, before God – our father in heaven. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says this picture describes what can only be called the “highest achievement of man”…he says
“the highest picture you can ever have of man is to look at him on his knees, waiting on God……Man is never greater than when he is there in communion and contact with God.”
He goes on to say that
“the supreme matter in this life and in this world for all of us is to realize our relationship to God.”
I guess that is the question we should all be asking ourselves at this time: - what is my relationship to God? It is a question that all Christians should be asking – and often asking - but I have a sense that it is most important at this time – a time during which we have seen great upheaval in nations, economies and even in the church.
Do I really have a personal, intimate relationship with God? How is that relationship manifested? Is it like that picture of the Christian, on his knees before his father? Is it that person, poor in spirit, knowing that in spite of his sinfulness, God so loved him that He sacrificed His only son, so that he or she – this Christian – could have eternal life? Is it that person who, in remembering his sinfulness, mourns over it – and the sinfulness of the world around him; but is able to do that knowing that God has cleansed him from it, remembering it no more?
There are no other questions we need ask about anything to do with our faith, or with church, or with doctrine. If we can answer that main question about our relationship to God by saying “it is good”, everything else becomes irrelevant! All other questions simply fall away.
But how can we know that our relationship with God is good? Well, in short (because to go into greater detail would take a lot longer) there are four main indicators:
· You love spending ‘alone’ time in His presence, knowing that you are always in His presence.
· You love spending time reading and studying His word, and sharing it with others.
· You love spending time in prayer, both personal and corporate, and
· You love spending time in the gathering of other believers, for where two or more are gathered, He is there! Fellowshipping together, worshipping together, and glorifying God together.
Nothing else in your life seems to be as important! This is the manner in which Jesus walked. He loved drawing aside in solitude, sometimes spending whole nights in prayer. He always did what his father in heaven told him. He ‘lived’ to please his father in heaven. This is why John says:
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did[1]
This is how we have come to know him; this is how we know we are in him, John says.
So, don’t worry yourself with questions about whether we should meet on Sundays or Saturdays; or at eight, nine or ten o’clock. The early believers gathered together daily – and sometimes all day! And they did so with joyful hearts! And, - in their midst were Jews and Greeks, slaves and free, men and women and children, and people from all backgrounds and persuasions; but now – new creations in Christ!
So, don’t worry yourself with questions about the formalities of worship, or of prayer, just worship and pray. Don’t beat yourself up if you haven’t met your daily goal of praying for at least an hour; those kind of goals are just idle religion anyway if the means is more important than the one to whom you are praying. Paul said we should ‘pray without ceasing’. It’s not that we must then pray 24/7, but that our hearts must always be aligned and attuned to prayer with our father who is in heaven.
Don’t worry yourself about whether to use the King James version (or any other version) of the bible in your study sessions, it doesn’t matter! Use one that works for you! The early believers gathered together often to sit under the word of God. The word of God is the very bread of life. Don’t go out into the world each day without having a healthy helping of it to sustain you.
Questions about whether we should ever meet at all, because of Covid or because we now have online services, should never enter our heads if our relationship with our father is in good standing. We will be desperate to gather together as often as possible to experience the joy of God’s presence in the midst of his people.
After all that happened to us this past year, how is your relationship to God right now?
Jesus said that:
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing[2]
[1] The New International Version. (2011). (1 Jn 2:3–6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 15:5). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
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