I’m pretty sentimental when it comes to my Christian faith. Part of the reason for this involves my life experience as well as my desire and effort to grow deeper in relationship with Jesus. I totally understand how strange this might sound to some – that is, growing deeper in relationship with a man who lived over two thousand years ago – but if one believes in what the scriptures say regarding Jesus Christ, he or she must come to grips with the understanding that Jesus is believed to be very much alive and is experienced through the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words, he or she can still “experience” Jesus despite Him not physically residing next to him or her. (Okay, even that sounds strange. But explaining such a thing is quite difficult, even though it’s very real for millions of people around the world – myself included).
I learned a long time ago that you should be careful what you ask God for; because the truth is that He’s dynamic and relational. He is a God who responds, and sometimes His response is overwhelming. The most powerful experience I ever had with God took place when I was about twenty-one years old. I was at church on a Sunday evening and participating in the routine of musical worship. I don’t know why, but for some reason a thought entered my mind: I want to experience the love Christ had for us while He was dying on the cross. So quietly to myself I said, “God, let me experience a glimpse of your love for us.” I had no clue what I was in for. Immediately, I became overwhelmed with love. The feeling was so incredible that I couldn’t contain it. So I cried. I cried so hard that my body became weak, and I sat down and buried my face in my hands.
Trying to describe this love is impossible, for it wasn’t like anything I had felt before. It wasn’t like the flutters of romantic love. It wasn’t like the love of a friend or brother. It wasn’t even like the love of a parent toward a child. All these types of love are powerful, but the love I felt in that moment was something far different and far more encompassing.
(As an embarrassing side note, I was sitting next to a girl who I had a crush on. I was planning on asking her out later that week, but didn’t exactly look like the perfect catch as a pathetic, sobbing train wreck. Oh well…)
The Consequence of Relationship
We often talk about being in a “relationship” with God through Jesus Christ. But there appear to be two camps that many Christians find themselves in. One camp fails to recognize the consequence of proclaiming a relationship with God, and the other takes things a little too far (at least in my opinion). I think the majority of Christians find themselves in the first camp; that is, they take their faith seriously but haven’t really considered the consequence of proclaiming a relationship with God. And so those in this camp, while they champion moral integrity, for the most part they go on living their life unaffected by relationship with God. In other words, there isn’t a sense of experiencing this relationship. They don’t seek God for guidance on a regular basis, or listen to what message or response He might place on their heart, wrestle with it, and act accordingly. Instead, the situation becomes more “deistic”. That is, these Christians view Jesus (God) as a moral example alongside the belief of Him as the source of their salvation. So, as it pertains to this life, and since their salvation is believed to be secure, all that’s left is to try and live a life of moral fortitude. As a result, they go about their life as usual. They make plans and goals, and they do so with their self as their guide. They may attribute something good that takes place in their life’s plan as God’s doing, but in reality, they never approached God with their plans and goals in the first place! They’re merely making God fit into their blueprint however they see fit.
The other camp arguably takes the notion of relationship a little too far. We sometimes label these Christians as the “charismatic kooks”. They take the consequence of relationship with God seriously, but they seem to go beyond the bounds of it. We see these Christians dancing and partying like it’s 1999 (anybody catch the song reference?). Not only do they live their life in constant communication with God (which is good!) but they start speaking in tongues like the gift is some sort of on/off switch rather than something truly God inspired. They start casting out demons, believe they have been given the power of healing, gain financial prosperity, and so forth. Do I believe that some of these crazy things are possible? Sure. But those in this camp start treating such things as resources of individual power, in that the purpose and focus of genuine discipleship is lost. Rather than Jesus as the core purpose and focus, growing in relationship with Him, being transformed by Him and inviting others to be transformed by Him, the whole thing turns into a magic show.
The True Consequence
The true consequence of relationship with God through Jesus Christ (as I see it) involves communication, openness to knowing Him more, and being transformed by Him…that’s it. And while I say “that’s it”, in actuality it’s more than enough! Rather than being indifferent to the consequence of relationship, or overly charismatic, we need to ask ourselves, “What is the goal?” The appropriate answer would seem to be to know Him more and be transformed by Him. It’s not about us; it’s about Him. It’s about God and what He is doing in our lives as well as the direction in which He is taking His creation.
The story I shared of my experience with God was not founded on any belief that I was gaining some sort of spiritual or material benefit. It was founded on the mere pursuit of wanting to know God more and experience a glimpse of His overwhelming love. And believe me, it was more than enough!
Michael Fessler is a writer, speaker, and the author of Faith and Wrestling, They’re Just Not Interested, and The Wrestler.
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