Christianity is about Relationships

God designed us to be relational. Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment was to love God. The second was to love our neighbour. One of our greatest human needs is to be in relationship with others.

I once heard that the silent killer of our Western world was loneliness. If true, then this just highlights the core need we all have to experience meaningful, satisfying, personal relationships.

However the Creator also designed us to be in relationship with himself. In fact he says that this is the primary reason he created us, to enjoy a personal relationship foremostly with himself as well as one another. Why? Because that is what he is like, he is relational and loving.

He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows that there is nothing in this world; no power, no material possession, nor any person that ultimately quenches our hunger to experience a fully satisfying life but through a genuine relationship with himself.

My experience tells me that even when I enjoy the many pleasures in life; like good food, entertainment, the latest holiday destination, fashion or even genuine caring relationships, that I experience momentary happiness but not that deep felt joy and satisfaction we all search for.

These things will never completely satisfy us. Only God can do that. That's the way he made us. Someone once said, "You have made us for yourself God, and we will not find rest until we find it in you." A friend recently said to me, "I lived all my life with an internal pain inside of me. I tried to fill that with drugs, the fast life, and trendy gadgets, but they did not remove this pain. I have discovered that only God can do that." My search for fulfillment and inner peace has led me to agree with him.

A personal relationship with God through Jesus is the only thing that will ultimately afford us the peace, joy and fulfillment that we long for. Jesus himself said that he came that we may experience life, and abundantly so!

You might say, "Well I have satisfying personal relationships, and I'm pretty content with my lot in life. I don't need God." Fair point, and I don't doubt your feelings for a moment. However there is a word which comes to mind, perspective.

Have you ever considered that there might be more to life than what you have already experienced? If so, how do you know that Jesus isn't a man of his word and has something far greater for you than you could ever imagine? Something like those people who said that humankind could never fly.... perspective!

Secondly, and sorry to bring it up again, but that personal moral condition we have already highlighted means that heaven is only for the perfect ones. Accordingly, we all have an eternal problem that God can't ignore. He might be loving, but he is also just and cannot turn a blind eye to our relative goodness. To paraphrase God's assessment of us in Australian terms, "We have all gone walkabout from him." Our imperfect attitudes and actions are testimony to this.

Now this might seem a little old fashioned, even kind of embarrassing, but Jesus spoke openly about another place than heaven beginning with the same letter. He said that one day we will all stand before him and be called to account for our actions. However this time it won't just be a private showing of our thoughts and feelings over the last 24 hours, but everything we have thought, said, or done! Hmm.... embarrassing, I know. Left to our own devices and God's fair judgment, we would all stand eternally separated from him.

I'm aware that I have focused upon the negative, but there is a great positive spin to all this. Quite amazing actually.

God knows that our greatest potential is to be in relationship with himself, but also that our greatest need is for forgiveness.

That is why he sent his son Jesus. He did not want us to be eternally separated from himself, so he sent Jesus to provide a means by which we could experience this loving relationship both now as well as eternally in heaven after we die.

He loved us so much he couldn't bear to just let us go walkabout without making a way for us to come home to him.

When Jesus died on that Roman cross 2000 years ago, he said he was doing it for you and me. He said that his life was being given in exchange for ours, like a ransom.

In effect the cross serves as God's huge billboard to the world saying, "Come Home All Is Forgiven." When Jesus was crucified he said it was the most genuine expression of love he could afford to us, so that through his sacrifice we might receive the forgiveness we all need.