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Reading vs Relationship

by Gregory Winfield  
7/26/2012 / Christian Living

Imagine being given the choice of receiving a book written by your favorite author and being given the opportunity to sit down with your favorite author to ask any question you want. Imagine being able to discuss their books with them. Imagine what it would be like to talk about life, and loves, and difficulties, and trials and anything under the sun for as long as you wanted. Please don't get me wrong by what I'm about to say.....hear me out. Jesus Christ has called us to liberty, not bondage. We absolutely should study God's Word. We need His Word. Proverbs 4:20-22 tells us that His Word is life unto those that find them...

But as in the illustration above, if you had the opportunity to sit down with Jesus and speak with Him versus being given a bible to read about Him, which would you choose? I think I know the answer to that question. But the reality is WE DO have access to Him 24/7. He lives inside of those of us who are born again. Once again I must reiterate that we should read and study our bibles. But I believe that fellowship with Him is far more beneficial.

Looking back on my life as a new Christian, I placed myself under such bondage! In my mind, I had a structured plan on how I was going to grow spiritually. I had to read 5 Chapters per day and I had to pray for 1 hour per day....no exceptions. Question: How would you feel if you had the opportunity to fellowship with a good friend everyday....let's say at Starbucks. You loved your friend and you loved the time you spend together every day. The problem is that no matter what you and your friend may be talking about, after 60 minutes, your friend would slide his chair back from the table, stand up, and walk away and wouldn't have anything to do with you until your meeting at Starbucks the following day? How would you feel if this happened over and over again day after day?

Our union with Christ is not about bondage, but freedom. It's not a regiment, it's a relationship. So again I ask you, which would you rather do if given the choice.....read the authors book, or fellowship with the author 24/7? My answer - I would love to receive a book by my favorite author, but if given the choice between the book and the one on one session with my favorite author my choice would be to sit down and talk with my favorite author in person. That's not to say that I wouldn't read his or her books anymore. In fact their books would take on a new life...a new meaning for me after sitting down and talking with the author in person.

I encourage you to develop the habit of "hanging out" all day everyday with Jesus. Talk to Him about very deep issues that concern you and talk to Him about very small issues such as whether to buy Pork Chops or Steak for dinner. Listen to your heart....He's talking to you all the time. He wants to give you pertinent information concerning your life that's not in the bible. He wants to lead and guide you in every aspect of your life. Shhh....did you hear that? Are you listening?

Greg's love of writing and the unique way God illustrates the truth of His Word through everyday life situations has given birth to the FaithsMessenger Blog (http://www.faithsmessenger.com). Our goal is to share biblical principles, stories and analogies in a clear, concise, and understandable way.

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