A Personal Relationship
When I was young, my brother and I discovered my parent's tennis rackets behind their bedroom door. We found the can of balls next to them. I remember that chemical new-car-like odor that tennis balls have. I remember going out onto the court with my brother trying to bounce a ball on my racket like I'd seen some guy do on TV. Well, we took our positions across the net from each other and then started trying to hit the ball. Finally we began to get the hang of the rackets and we would slam those balls as hard as we could, right over the huge fence around the courts. We figured tennis wasn't all that fun because you spent most of your time in the parking lot or the weeds looking for the balls you whacked over the fence.
A lot of people say that God is a great idea, that spirituality is cool, but "organized religion" is terrible. By this they mean that nobody can really know God, so it's best to believe what you want about Him (or Her, or It, or Them) and worship God sincerely in your own way and (most importantly) don't look down on anyone else's way.
But what if we can really know God? What if God wants to be known? What if God made us, and gave us these incredible, imaginative, rational, emotional minds precisely so that we could know Him? What if God actually cares about us? What if He actually loves us and wants to be loved back?
Jesus is God revealing Himself to mankind so that we can know Him. Jesus broke down all the barriers between man and God so that we can have a real relationship with the real God. But that means we have to come to Him on His terms, not ours.
I remember when, in Jr. High PE class we began to actually learn to play tennis. Faults, sets, wondering why the score goes 15, 30, 40, 50 and where the heck the whole "love" thing came from. We learned about lines: where out of bounds was, where the service courts were. We even got a little rulebook with it all spelled out for us. Then we spend hours working on proper technique, serves, forehand, backhand, lob, and volley. Man, why spend a good session of find-the-ball with all these weird rules. We even had a test on it!
But that is when you start really having fun. In spite of what my little brother and I thought back in those days with my parents' tennis rackets, just because you're standing on a tennis court, with tennis rackets, hitting tennis balls around, doesn't mean you're playing tennis. When you start to play tennis with the rules, that's when you get the rush and respect of a game well played, the accomplishment of making a sweet shot, the thrill of winning. You can't feel those things when you're searching under cars for the ball you hit over the fence.
A lot of us, even a lot of people who call themselves Christians, look really spiritual. We say spiritual things, do charitable deeds, and even attend religious worship services. But we don't have a real relationship with God anymore than my brother and I were really playing tennis back then.
But this is the cool thing about Jesus. He loves us. He accepts us right where we are. We don't have to be an expert at the rules. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be the spiritual equivalent of the Wimbledon champ before He'll have anything to do with us. Jesus died on the cross, paying the penalty for all the times we've broken God's rules, all the times we've tried to force God to meet us on our terms instead of His. So you don't have to worry about how bad or good you've been, that's not an issue anymore. He loves you. He wants you to know Him. He ready to start right where your are now.
When my PE teacher was teaching us tennis, he carefully showed us each stroke. Sometimes he would even stand behind someone and hold their hand, moving their arm through the motion of a swing so we would learn how to get the right topspin on the ball.
Jesus isn't like some coach who stays in the locker room calling out pointers to us over a garbled PA. He's the kind of coach who gets right in there with you. We call that part of Him the Holy Spirit. When you come to Jesus, accept that He's forgiven you and wants you to get to know him, God's presence is right there with you. He comes into your soul and shows you how to really live, practicing with you patience and peace, coaching you in charity and compassion, and instructing you in integrity.
If you want to get to know God, start talking to Him. Introduce yourself. Say:
God, I really want to know you. I want you to really know me. I know I usually try to make you meet me on my terms, my way. But I want to really know you. So this time, I'm willing to come to you on your terms. I accept the forgiveness you offer to me through Jesus' death on the cross and I invite you into my life.
Please, become my coach. Teach me how to know you. Teach me how to really live the way you created me to live. Amen
Unlike tennis, a relationship with God isn't a solo event. The church is a community of people all learning to live in the same relationship you just started. Find a group of other Christians, a church, a bible study, a prayer group. Working together we can all get to know God better. We can support each other as we learn how to really live. We can hold each other accountable when we aren't living up to God's ways. We can work together to make this world a better place.
If this message has helped you begin a relationship with God, or maybe helped you repair one that's been on the rocks, contact us. We'd like to pray for you and help you find a church home near you where you can find other people to walk with you on your new journey of Faith.
