“I want to have a deeper relationship with Christ. I really
do but…”
Throughout the years I’ve talked to so many different
Christians who desperately want to have a more intimate relationship with the
Lord. You’ve probably talked to a couple, too. They say things like:
- “I try to read my bible every day but I just can’t seem to be consistent.”
- “I want to have a prayer life but I just can’t seem to pray for longer than five minutes.”
- “I really do want to have a deeper relationship with The Lord. I really do but I just can’t be the person He wants me to be just yet.”
Sound familiar? Maybe you can relate to these statements. I know I could at one time in my life. I’ve learned that my problem with
growing a deeper relationship with The Lord was simply that I just loved God—And that’s fantastic. However,
intimacy is more than just loving someone, it’s about truly being in love with that person. Many
Christians love God but lack
intimacy with Him because they aren’t truly in
love with Him.
But why aren’t more Christians completely in love with God?
There are many reasons this is true. I believe a
common reason is what I like to call the "Clean
House Syndrome." When friends or family come over your house you’re moved to
clean or tidy up a bit, right? You dust, clean the kitchen, and maybe even
vacuum. You wouldn’t want your guest to judge you, right?
We do the same thing with Christ when He knocks on the doors
of our hearts (home). We throw bitterness under the bed, try to dust off
lust, and hope that Jesus doesn’t open the door to our “secret closet sins.” So we say, "Jesus, I love You but I'm not ready to deal with my mess yet. I'm embarrassed and fear that You won't love me the same if You saw my mess." And instead of completely welcoming Him into our hearts, we let Him keep
knocking. Our fear that He will reject
us keeps us from completely giving Him our whole hearts.
When you expose all of the mess in your heart to God, you allow Him to go into the most intimate places in your heart. With perfect love and grace, He will begin to clean those places up. Then, reading the bible, praying, and listening to worship music won't be something to check off of a list. It'll be a connection that you use to know Him more--just because you're in love.
Beloved, it’s time to completely open up the doors to your
heart and let Jesus in. He’s not afraid of your mess. In fact, when you let Him
in, He’ll clean your mess up better than you could ever imagine. You see, He wants all of you—including your mess. Your spiteful heart, your insecure heart, your prideful heart, and even your hateful heart—He wants it
all. He didn’t just die for part of you; He died for all of you. Amazing child of God, the truth is, Jesus won’t stop knocking until you
completely welcome Him in. He WILL continue to pursue you. It's time to let Him in.
Lord, I will never be
satisfied with just giving you part of me. I'm ready to give you all of me, all
that I have, and all that I am. I know that even with all of mess, you won’t
judge me, but You will love me. Take me as I am today, Lord. I am ready for more of
You.
