Moving Beyond Relationship to Commitment

The Holy Ghost has recently made me very aware of how the word ‘relationship’ has become a buzzword in the modern world. It’s especially prevalent in the church world. Everywhere you turn, you’ll hear someone talking about ‘having a relationship’ with the Lord. You’ll often hear Christians urging others to ‘develop a relationship’ with Jesus. It sounds wholesome and innocent, but is it? I was reminded of this recently when a coworker complained that her neglectful live-in boyfriend failed to show up for an elaborate dinner that she cooked. There was no phone call. Nothing. Instead of going home from work, he decided to go hang out with his buddies. She was upset at his failure to show because she said it contradicted the fact that when he waswith her, he really appeared to be ‘into’ the relationship.

I told her that this was one of the reasons why God’s plan for her life wasn’t a string of broken and loose relationships but rather for her to save herself, say no, and insist upon marriage. I can think of very few things as dangerous as the power of love when it’s not harnessed by the binds of commitment. “People will often want relationship because of what they can get out of you. That doesn’t mean they’re committed to building a life or a home with you.”

So, here is what the Lord has been dealing with me to say:

We are not called by God to be in some “on-again, off-again” relationship that benefits only us but abuses Christ. We are not free to drift in and out whenever we please (like God is the only one with commitments to live up to). The Bible repeatedly refers to those who are saved as the “Bride of Christ.” God the Father sees us as married to His Son and expects us to act like it. Like the wedding vows say, “We are to forsake all others for His sake. We are to love, honor, cherish and obey.” The reason why our modern church world prefers to speak of relationship with Christ instead of marriage to Him is because somewhere deep inside we realize that a groom has things that he expects from his bride. Jesus, our Groom, expects us to be in His house doing our part to help build Him a home in our hearts and in the hearts of others. Jesus also expects intimacy with His yielded bride and desires to be with us continually.

God is not frivolous, flighty, or tawdry and He simply won’t be drawn into a relationship that is nothing more than “a casual fling.”

Think about it. Pray about it. Yield, and commit to God.