Searching for a Relationship

Q: What does it mean to have a personal relationship with God?

I just located the above article when I did a Google search about the same question. In reading it, I was hoping that the answer would be given, but it wasn't. It talks a bit about God and what having a relationship with god expects of us, but it says nothing about what the relationship is. I have had people tell me on line that they believe in God because they have had a personal relationship with God which confirmed to them that there is a God. I was an extremely active Christian for over 40 years, and I never had an experience like that nor did I know anyone personally who ever claimed to have had that experience. Therefore I was hoping that your article would enlighten me as to what that relationship looked or felt like and how to recognize it. Sadly it didn't tell me anything more than I had already been told in church or Sunday school.

Would the reason for this be that one cannot give a description of a personal relationship with God because such a relationship has never existed, and therefore there are no actual examples on which to draw from for explanation?

A: I would not conclude that there is no such thing as a personal relationship with God simply because you have not experienced it, felt it or because others have not explained it to your satisfaction. You say you have been searching for this relationship for 40 years without success. The only place to begin to explain to you what a personal relationship with God is like is to start with the Gospel. Do you know what the Gospel is? Could you explain to a person what it actually is that separates mankind from God, why we are separated from Him and what it is Jesus provided to us? A fundamental misunderstanding of the Gospel is, in my opinion, the single, biggest problem in the Body of Christ. In a nutshell, the Gospel is sin, death, forgiveness and the restoration of life. It is possible you do not have a relationship with God because you do not understand the fullness of the Gospel.

We must first understand the problem between man and God. The problem is that man is spiritually dead to God and in need of His life. The Bible says that "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7)." God created Adam in His image. Adam was a reflection of the character of God with God's life indwelling Him. But, before Adam and Eve had any children, Adam sinned and he died spiritually. The life of God was removed from Him. All mankind has been born in the image of Adam and not God. We come into this world as a representation of what it is like not to be a reflection of God. "When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth (Genesis 5:3)."

God's solution to our problem is that He has offered us His life again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies (John 11;25)." Therefore, salvation is being saved from the wages of sin, death, by the gift of God, life. "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5)." It is our spiritual death that makes us seek to have a relationship with our Creator. It may be why people ask questions like, "Who am I?" and "Why am I here?" Perhaps, all those people you have asked this question to do not have the answer for you because they are seeking answers to it as well. Continuing on we must realize that before God could offer us His life He had to deal with the sin that caused Him to remove His life from Adam.

Before life could be given, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our sins had to be forgiven. Only God can forgive sins. "Who can forgive sins but God alone (Mark 2:7)?" Therefore, God became a man. "...Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8)!" Jesus died in our place because our sins deserve death and we do not have a life to give that would satisfy God as payment. In other words, our sins required the death of God as payment. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)." The death of Christ was final and sufficient to take away our sins for all eternity. "[H]e entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12)." And because of the cross, there is no sin that can cause His life to be removed again. Thus, the life we have is an eternal life.

It is imperative to understand that God created us to have the deepest desires of our heart for unconditional love, total acceptance, meaning and purpose to life. It is just as imperative to understand that He is the only one who can fulfill those desires in Himself. That is the way He created us back in the Garden, in Adam, and that is what He has provided to us now, in Christ. How God reveals Himself to you is specific to your individual relationship. For me it has been through things like revealing the meaning of scripture to me, answering prayers, motivating me to share His message of salvation to the world, feeling a peace in my spirit when my mother passed, directing me on how to overcome my alcohol dependency and many other ways. But, it all started with me understanding what separated me from God and what He provided to me in Christ Jesus. We cannot experience a relationship with God apart from His life indwelling us and knowing what all we have been given in Him.

In conclusion, there are two scriptures I encourage you to focus on. The first is Ephesians 1:3. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." The second is 2 Peter 1:3. "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." Many people believe a relationship with God is found through Him manipulating the circumstances of their life to their benefit. Others expect to experience a feeling as evidence of His presence in their life. While these things may occur in a person's life, they are not something we should expect to happen. Ask yourself a question. "If God has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ and given you everything you need for life and godliness, what more does He need to give you in order to have a relationship with Him?"