I think a lot of Christians have been hurt by the contemporary emphasis on having a 'relationship' with God. There are many types of 'relationships,' but when the phrase is used these days it's often being used in particular ways. For instance, quite popular these days is the "Jesus is my boyfriend" mentality. A lot of worship songs are actually 'romantic' in nature and 'intimacy' with God has been a very popular sermon/book series. I would speculate that this has a least a role in the stats that show that men aren't too interested in contemporary churches. Another popular view of our 'relationship' with God is "Jesus is my homeboy," but, obviously, this is quite an uncomfortable metaphor for some.
Sure, there are elements of truth in most of the metaphors we use to describe our relationship with God. But, it seems to me, we too often forget that there are elements of error in them as well. A proper balance of metaphors is necessary. In my opinion we have too much emphasis on the aforementioned descriptions and not enough mention of the fact that Jesus is our Owner, Boss, Master, Lord, King, etc.
And perhaps this is a different point & post all-together, but I think the whole 'friendship' with God metaphor is over-used. It can't be allowed to monopolize the discussion. The end result of over-emphasizing certain metaphors is that a whole bunch of Christians end up 'feeling' dis-connected with God, when in reality they are living just the way God wants them to. Frankly, I think it's more important to obey the Lord each day than to 'feel' close to Him each day. I'm a citizen in His Kingdom at all times, it's really up to Him to decide when I shall be summoned.
3 comments:
Good word, yo.
I am a friend of Bob. I am a friend of Bob. I am a friend of Bob, he calls me Fred.
I would agree with that. I think the Bible more often talks of God as our Lord and Master than it speaks of Him as our friend. The apostle Paul also called us soldiers whose captain is Christ. While your captain in the military might also be your friend, he's certainly not going to indulge you.
On the other hand, I get a lot of comfort from being close to Jesus Christ. However, I believe that obedience must come first before the relationship can really grow. I DO, then I FEEL. (Or sometimes I do, then I don't feel. And that is where faith is of utmost importance.)
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