Building a Relationship with Christ

The following is part of a message that I sent a friend of mine in regards to how our earthly relationships represent our relationship with Christ and how the enemy attempts to attack those relationships. This effected my friend so much that I wanted to share it with you here too. Please keep in mind while reading that it was written in response to a question and therefore worded to them specifically. In general, it fits for all.

A Relationship with Christ

It helps to have a reference point. Whoever you have experienced the most love with… whether it was from a parent, grandparent, friend, romantic, a pet, etc. Use that as a reference point to begin at.

All of our relationships are to be an example of how we are to see God and how God sees us. Just as we grow and mature in this life, so do our relationships.

For example… We begin with our parents and grandparents. When we are infants, we rely solely upon them for everything. We cannot survive without their protection and provision. We also should see an unconditional love, at least in the beginning. I know that because this life is not perfect, not all parents are the way they should be and it causes us to have a distorted view of our first interactions. This is one of Satan’s weapons against us right from birth. If he can distort this relationship, then it will be even harder for us to relate to God as our Father, Provider, Protector, etc.

Our first step is to recognize Him, God as our creator. With this, brings a reverent respect and holy fear.

Secondly, just as in this life would be the parental perspective as stated above.

Thirdly, would be our relationship with our peers / friends. In this we learn to relate to God as our friend… our best friend. He is the one who never leaves us… is always there to hear everything about each detail of our lives. He is the one who has our back when times are rough. He is the one we can always count on. He is the one who makes us laugh and whom we learn to be a loyal friend to and take up for when others try to attack Him. When we in this life find backstabbing friends and unloyal friends, this is another of Satan’s tools against us to distort another aspect of our relationship with God. If Satan can pervert this, it then becomes even harder for us to relate to God because our trust has been taken from us.

Fourthly, would be as an authority figure. We learn from an early age that there are authority figures in our lives that we must obey and respect. This comes in different forms such as teachers, elders in general as well as police, etc. As you can tell, many in this life have corrupted their authority and so as with every other area of relationships… Satan uses this one to cause us to distrust, disrespect and rebel against all authority. If we do this, it becomes very hard to become humble toward God and be obedient to Him with an understanding that He has our best interest in mind with every step.

Fifth would be romantic relationships. This aspect is a vital one because we are the Bride of Christ and everything is summed up in this relationship. Satan has been so successful in disrupting this beautiful example. Satan began with breaking up homes with divorce through unfaithfulness and abuse so that no one has a good example growing up to attain to. Right off the bat, many have become broken in this area because if the romantic relationship is unhopeful and full of pain… what is there? Everything becomes unstable. Once this happens, Satan has then used perversions in order to encourage people to think that the only way to find happiness is to please themselves in whatever ways possible. The problem is that in always trying to please yourself, you find… just as a drug, nothing really ever works. You may have pleasure for a moment but in the next moment… not so much. This is when Satan has brought in homosexuality which leads to pedophilia and then finally to bestiality. Once this happens, there is nothing left but pure violence. This is Satan’s greatest tool because once he has gotten us to be our own gods (this happens when our concern is to please ourselves and be obedient to ourselves, etc.) then there is no more room for the one true God. This is when God turns us over to our own reprobate minds (desires) and we die in those. This is why it is said that the wages of sin is death.

Finally, when we have children. In this relationship, we are shown our relationship with God through God’s eyes. We become the protector, the provider, the everything to another. With this, we come full circle and can then see God in His entirety as a whole being. Just as we are because we are created in His image. Our entire lives are for the purpose of getting to know Him in a way that no other creation can because we experience Him through those around us and through ourselves when the cycle is complete.

Then, once we are in heaven with Him… we will be able to relate to Him in a way far deeper then we ever could here because we will then see Him just as He is from the inner depths to the outer surface. It is a dimension un-attainable to us in this realm.

So, as you can see… above is the plan God has for us getting to know Him in every aspect as well as Satan’s plans for destroying this along the way.

What you need to do is to start at the beginning. Look at what you know, what you have experienced. See how God intended for you to see Him. Recognize how Satan has twisted everything to tear you away from God. Then pray that God will wipe away everything that is a hinder and for Him to allow you to recapture the time that was stolen from you by Satan and to turn your heart to Him (God) and help you to gain an understanding and grow in love toward Him.

You just need to start at the beginning. Get the right perspective. Learn what is the wrong perspective and be willing to let go of it or it will weigh on you like an anvil and drown you in the lake of fire. Reading the Bible is to get to know God in His own Words. It is to help you know how to be pleasing to Him from the love you will have for Him once you let Him in. All pride, all resentment, all hatred, all vengeance, all unforgiveness must be let go of in order to let Him in and then He will change you… You cannot change your own heart, He must do it. You must chase after Him with whatever you do have and plead with Him to change your heart toward Himself.

*** In the end, we must read the Word of God to get to know who He is. The previous is to help us open ourselves to Him and it provides a starting point for communication and perception. ***