Building a relationship with God

We have all sorts of relationships with others.  Some of those would be family, acquaintances, colleagues at work, classmates, and lifelong friends.  Think about your closest relationships outside of your family.  How did they become your closest friends?  It normally starts out with getting to know the other person.

You introduce yourself (or someone introduces you) to them and then start to get to know them.  In the case of God, He already knows everything about you, but what do you know about Him?  How were you introduced to Him and what have you learned about Him through the Bible, church, or conversations with other Christians?  Initially, your conversations are light and upbeat.  You do not dig into each other’s personal life or get confrontational.  We tend to do the same thing with our relationship with God.  We do not apply everything we learn to our own lives at the beginning.

Next, you will lay down the foundation of the friendship.  You will have more conversations and get to know each other on a deeper level.  You do this by attending church, studying your Bible and being willing to show your quirky habits or flaws.  Even though God already knows all this about you, we tend to not think about Him watching us.  Friends rely on each other for support through hard times, so you need to know that He will be there if you ever need Him.  That is what friends do for each other.

No relationship can withstand being built on secrets and lies, so it is extremely important to be open and honest.  Not only do you need to be honest with God, but you also need to be honest with yourself.  To develop into a strong close relationship, it takes work.  No matter how much you and your friend have in common, arguments and disagreements are bound to come up at some point. Work through these bumps in the road with your friend.  The same things apply to your relationship with God.  Do you understand His point of view?  When things do not go your way, do you blame it on God, or do you work it out with Him and realize that it is all part of His will?

Let us go back to the beginning and what it takes to start the relationship with God.  There are people that you know, but do not have a relationship with.  You may know of God, but that does not mean you have a relationship with Him.  In John 4:16 Jesus says, …I am the way, the truth, and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.  The first step in beginning a relationship with God is choosing to walk with His Son. That requires three things of us:

Admission. We must admit that we are sinners in need of a Savior. (see Romans 3:23)

Belief. Believe that Jesus is the perfect Son of God who died on the cross (and rose again) to take the penalty for our sins. (see John 3:16)

Confess Jesus as our Lord. (see Romans 10:9-10)

Once we get through the first step in the relationship, we need to pray, study the Bible, and grow with others.  Your interaction with other Christians, through church, etc., helps to grow your relationship with God.  This, in turn, will lead us to following His commandments, serving others, and sharing the Gospel.  Doing all these things brings us closer to God and strengthens our relationship.  He will become your closest friend and all the traits of a close friend will be there. 

Maybe you are new in your relationship with God or know someone who does not know God yet. Share with them how you are/have built your relationship with Him. If there is anything I can do to help you/them in the journey to a deeper relationship, please reach out to me at thomas@ThomasAMayberry.com.