During prayer last night a friend prayed for someone that they would be able to “continue their relationship with God.” The phrase is apt. We most certainly must have a relationship with God. There’s no question about it.
But what struck me was how that phrasing may have, over time, diluted the real concept behind it.
Now, as the friends I was praying with said, you may think that I’m simply nitpicking an arbitrary thing the church uses in its regular vernacular. But I still think that it’s a bit more significant than that. Although well within the grey area.
See, every other thing in our lives which we would describe as having a ‘relationship with’, pales in comparison to what is expected of our relationship with God. I have a relationship with my Dog. I have a relationship with my friends. I have a relationship with my family. Perhaps the closest we come is our relationship with our wife or husband. But even that, at least in today’s culture, is really not even close.
Our relationship with God is actually to encompass absolutely every aspect of our lives. Our thoughts, feelings, actions, decisions. Not a single one is to be outside that relationship with God. Even in marriage, there are some things that remain personal, albeit nowhere near as many as any other relationship. But with God, there isn’t even a single one. If anything, it shouldn’t be, “Do you have a relationship with Christ”, but “Do you have the relationship with Christ”.
But, I think it may be that the word ‘relationship’ simply isn’t strong enough. The term is too broad. And, to use it so consistently to describe what it is between us and God may actually help to numb things that ought to be sensitive.
I submit that a better word may be ‘servitude’ or even ‘slavery’. In scripture, we are repeatedly called to be ‘slaves of Christ’. This is difficult for some people to swallow since those words hold a lot of weight for other reasons. But it’s clearly a powerful metaphor and one that may serve us as a church better than what we currently employ.
But regardless of what words we use to describe it, we have to remember the point is total submission to, trust in, and love for Jesus Christ.
