Word of the Week - Relationship

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength;  the second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.  Mark 12:30-31

The more I live the more I realize that the key to life is real and healthy relationship with God and others, especially those close to us.  There is nothing more fulfilling and challenging than relationships.  On one hand, the true joy of life is sharing in the journey with others and experiencing the ups and downs of life with those we love.  On the other hand, the deepest pain and challenges I have experienced in life are associated with relational challenges, generally with those closest to me.  This is such a dichotomy but also the way God set things up because people are what matter most on this earth and their souls last forever.  If we allow Him, God will use relationship with Himself and others to refine us and mold us into His image, this is the process of sanctification.  So what is the difference between religion and relationship?  By definition, relationship is the way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected. Religion is a personal set of institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs and practices.  Religion is based on people’s efforts at reaching God and being made right with Him through their own efforts.  Christianity is not about signing up for a religion it is about being born into God’s family.  It is relationship at the deepest level as we are adopted by our Father through our faith in, and relationship with Jesus by receiving what He did for us on the cross.  He then empowers us to live like children of the King.  He does not ask us to try to attain holiness by our own strength, as religion does, but He asks that our old self be crucified with Him so that His power can live through us.  God wants us to abide in Him to know Him, to draw near to Him, to pray to Him, and to love Him above everything.  That is not religion; It is relationship at its deepest and highest level, and this is where we find true life.Have a great week and don’t forget that it is Valentine’s Day on Thursday.  Great opportunity for enhancing your relationship with your significant other.Sincerely,-Duane