Are you listening?

“Christianity is a love relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. It is not a religion to observe, a set of rituals to follow, or a list of disciplines to master. It’s astounding but true that the almighty God wants to communicate with us. And He has a lot to talk to us about. The same God who was present as each world empire rose and fell, who observed humanity making each scientific discovery, and who will judge every world leader, every ordinary person, and every demonic power – this God, who is infinitely wise and all-powerfully strong, wants to interact with you and me.
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Scripture claims that when our heart turns away from God, we stop hearing from Him (Deut 30:17). Each of us must decide how closely we want to walk with God. We can choose mediocrity in our Christian life, or we can resolve to go deeper spiritually, growing in our love for God and increasing our capacity to hear from Him.” – Unlimiting God, Richard Blackaby

I wholeheartedly agree with what Mr. Blackaby says here... but there is one thing that he doesn't take into account:

FEAR

There are a lot of things to fear:

• what if I fail
• what if I heard God wrong
• what if it's my imagination
• what if my friends leave
• what if people look at me

I admit it. I have those thoughts on a regular basis. What if no one reads this blog... or worse, what if someone does and thinks my understanding of God is wrong... or even "what would my Pastor think?"

What keeps me going is relationship. Let me try to explain it this way.

I'm married. I travel as a consultant, so there are times when I'm away from my wife. In order to keep the relationship strong, we have to talk. We talk about everything. Transparently, openly, honestly. When she's weak, I encourage her. When I feel unsure, she comforts me. 

Our love grows because we remain in relationship constantly through out the day. If it's a one line e-mail, o140 characters in a text message, a phone call, or the intimacy of sitting down and talking face to face.

If we didn't do this, our relationship would become stagnant, the potential for drifting away may occur.

Instead, with each message, there is a desire to spend more time with her and to make the best use of the time that we have together.

It's not so different with God. Through out the Bible, He refers to Himself as the bridegroom and to us as his bride. There is a longing for togetherness in ways that I can't fully comprehend.

God wants more than 90 minutes on a Sunday. He wants us to remain in contact with Him, and as we get to know Him better, the relationship will become more intimate. We will be more willing to tear down the walls that hide how we truly are so through relationship, there can be real change in our lives.

But... too many times we want relationship on our own terms... like in this video.

John 15
Common English Bible (CEB)
 1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 He removes any of my branches that don’t produce fruit, and he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already trimmed because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything. 6 If you don’t remain in me, you will be like a branch that is thrown out and dries up. Those branches are gathered up, thrown into a fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified when you produce much fruit and in this way prove that you are my disciples.