Far and NearSample

Many of us decide to come to Jesus and be born again in order to change our bad habits, and not so we can learn how to love Him. This means that we give our lives to Jesus so that we can stop getting drunk, desiring the lust of the flesh, etc. We don’t give our lives to Jesus so that we can love Him and be in a relationship with Him. We don’t see that as that love grows, it inculcates a desire for us to change. 

I didn't get into a relationship with my husband to become a more patient person. I got into a relationship to love him, and as my love for him grew each day, I desired to be better for him. I learned how he wanted to be loved and sought to change myself. 

Unfortunately, the same doesn’t apply to our relationship with Jesus. When we seek a relationship with Him, it’s so we can ‘change.' We then begin to perform religious tasks to aid this change instead of pursuing a loving relationship with Jesus. 

Suppose I struggle with the lust of the flesh, but I don't bother to understand why entertaining lust is wrong and why it breaks God's heart for me. Then, dear friends, I may find myself back at square one because my conviction is rooted in religious practices instead of love. The love of Jesus reminds me why I am staying strong, and on the days where I do give in to the temptation, I run back to Him, who promised to love me through thick and thin, good, and bad. 

There are a lot of ‘changed’ believers who know nothing about the love of God, and I was one of them. I had to start deconstructing everything I thought I knew about God, and friends, that's what we are trying to do here

REFLECTION: What changes in your life have you made that were not rooted in the love of/for God?

PRAYER:

Lord, I pray that you show me all the areas of my life where I have changed, not out of my love for You, but out of religious obligation. Expose every part of my heart that is rooted in religion and not in the notion of having a relationship with you. My greatest desire is to be in communion with you and to understand your heart towards me. Forgive me for all the times I have taken advantage of your love towards me.