Relationship

It's been my experience this past year to learn more of and about my relationship with Christ than ever before.  I've often wondered what it would be like to return to the time where mankind shared a intimate relationship with God before the fall.  Imagine walking through the garden and enjoying a intimate conversation with your creator just as easy as if you and I were to talk with one another.  I believe in my heart that this is one of the reasons God preordained the arrival of Christ on earth, to restore that relationship with his creation that he enjoyed so long ago.  Like a parent lamenting the loss of a relationship with a wayward child, God desires us to return to him once again.  For most of us, getting to that point of intimate relationship with God is a tough process.  Let me assure you, there is nothing that we can do to earn Gods favor.  Scripture makes it clear that our salvation is "Not by works, but by Gods loving grace"  For by grace we have been saved!  So, God loved each and every one of us so much, that despite our sin nature which goes totaly against heavenly father, he sent his son to suffer and die for each and every one of us.  How many of us would suffer as Christ did for even one man?  One of my favorite illustrations of Gods love for us is Jesus' story of the prodigal son.  I've often used this illustration with others to point out the level of love God has for us.  This son, this boy, comes to his wealthy father one day and declares "Dad, please give me my share of my inheritance, it's time for me to hit the road and experience life on my own"  If any of you are parents, this may sound like a familiar story.  When I was younger (not that I'm old) I often pushed my moms buttons as I strived for freedom and independance.  I'd experienced life under moms wings and naturaly I wanted to see what it was like on my own.  Anyway, so the wealthy father relents and gives his son his inheritance.  Long story short, the young man ends up squandering his inheritance and ends up working in a literal pig pen!  One day, fed up with his existance of poverty, the young man decides to return home to his fathers house and ask to work as a hired hand, realizing that his fathers servants live better than he is.  I'm sure the young man expected his father to be angry, who wouldn't?  Here's where the story takes a twist, and why it is such a wonderful illustration of Gods enduring love.  See, long before the son reaches his fathers house, his father sees him approaching and RUNS to greet him with a kiss!  See, dad had been waiting the return of his son since he left home!  So great is the fathers joy that he adorns his long lost son with new clothes and orders a feast in his honor to celebrate his son who "was lost but now is found!"  If you're familiar with this story i'm sure you've seen the symbolism many times.  Though we wander and stray, God is NEVER angry enough to reject us when we return to him.  In fact, he awaits our return with love, grace and compassion for his beloved creaton.  He yearns for us to return to the relationship he once enjoyed with his children.  Sound like a angry God to you?  We fail, we fall, we sin and we move against God and the entire time he awaits our return to him.  I mentioned my attempts at finding my independence in my younger years, and they provided unique learning experiences for me.  Being a single parent, my mom spent many sleepless nights praying for Gods love and protection over her own wayward children.  Loooking back on what I've been through, I can see those times where God honored her prayers.   It's funny, all those years I've spent trying to find a life of my own away from my moms influence, now I look to spend as much time as I can with her.