It's a question we often ask while we interview, and the other day I couldn't help but wonder what I would say if someone asked me the same question.
Because... what are we looking for?
What's sufficient?
What's 'good enough'?
One girl confessed that hers wasn't perfect, almost shamefully. I had to refrain from judging and lashing out at her: Not perfect?! Why would we ever consider you to work for a Christian ministry if your relationship with the Lord isn't perfect?! (kidding...)
Then again, what's perfect?
Can it ever be perfect?
Are we ever satisfied?
Can't we always be people who pray more, love others better, read our Bibles more consistently?
I don't want to be a person who ever breeds guilt in other believer's lives as they pursue Jesus. I never want to be the person who shakes my head, tsking when people tell me that they're struggling in one of these disciplines. I just imagine this nasal-y, condescending voice that quickly tells others to read more, pray more, do more. The voice that constantly makes us feel like where we're at will never be good enough, no matter how far we've come.
But when I think about a relationship with the Lord, when I ask the question about where someone is at spiritually, I really just want to know that it matters to them. That they're seeking. That they're allowing Scripture to transform them (and that doesn't necessarily mean that they're reading it for 10 minutes on schedule each day). That the truth of the Gospel permeates them to the core and doesn't allow them to be complacent. That they desire to be obedient to the Word, that they desire to be close to the Lord...and that they're striving to live a life of hope, joy and love.
Because if someone asked me?
I pray sporadically throughout the day.
I sometimes journal.
I try to love others.
I sometimes read the Bible or other books.
I have conversations and talk about Jesus as I do work and as it comes up in various relationships.
So, do I pass?
Is my answer sufficient?
Am I doing "enough"?
Is my relationship with the Lord good enough, thriving enough, for your definition?
Should I be doing more...?
Maybe.
Maybe I should.
But I lived that way for a better portion of my life and instead of freedom, I often encountered the guilt and shame that too easily accompanies legalism.
And so, instead of adopting a lifestyle where I'm confined by rules, I've found so much joy in simple obedience. In seeking to know the Lord more... through Scripture, through His creation, through people, through prayer, through music, through writing. It looks different each day, but it matters. Above all things.
I'm not looking for a specific routine or for you to convince me that because you read a devotional that you love the Lord...
I'm wanting to know that the Gospel has changed your life and is continuing to change your life. I'm wanting to know that each day you remember that we've been saved from eternal damnation and that we've been given to abundantly because of Christ. I want to know that you are seeking obedience, seeking a life of surrender, a life of sacrifice. I want to know that your heart belongs to the Lord and He is who you will serve for all the days of your life. I want to know that you bear fruit because you abide in Him.
A relationship with the Lord goes deeper than the lists we create to feel as though we're accomplishing something. Because, at the end of the day, no matter how much you read your Bible... are you really allowing the truth of it to change your life? Are you letting it sink in? Are you different every day because of it?
I hope so.
No matter what we're doing to pursue a relationship with Jesus...I hope, at the end of the day, that it changes us on a daily basis. That we're brighter reflections of Him as we are refined and made into more of His image.
Because it matters.
Even if it's never 'perfect', it matters.
More than any other relationship.
All I ask is that we treat it as such.
Your entries will remain anonymous
No comments:
Post a Comment