A Relationship Of Convenience

16Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Goodd Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17So He said to him, e“Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’‘You shall not commit adultery,’‘You shall not steal,’‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept gfrom my youth. What do I still lack?” 21Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Matthew 19: 16 - 22 NKJV

There have been many times in which I have felt like that rich young man, knowing Jesus and desiring His presence yet choosing instead that which gratifies my flesh.  This is sometimes the relationship of our own choosing, our convenient relationshp with Christ Jesus.  For at times we would much rather have Jesus on the sidelines, ready to come to our defense if and when we should need Him.  Of course, this reeks of independent thinking.  We convince ourselves that we are somehow independent of our creator and that He's only there to dig us out of any and all messy situations our "Independence" may get us into.  Think of this in terms of a physical relationship which you may be in.  Imagine being in a relationship with someone who only relied on you for financial help and emotional support.  How would you feel about that relationship?  For myself, personaly, I would not tolerate such a union for very long.  Yet, that is exactly where I have found myself more often than not in my relationship with my Lord and Savior.  I would okay with God in the background as I went about my life on my own.  However, as soon as something went haywire, as it always does, the first words out of my mouth would be "Help me God!"  Now, for His part, God has always been there for me even when I wasn't there for Him.  My own pride, impatience and false belief in independence have at times beeen more of a barrier to me than any other sin.  One of our discussion points in our group has more often than not centered on our false belief that are ourselves independent beings.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, when we place Christ in the background only to be called on if and when we need Him, we are only demonstrating our own hypocracy.  For if we were truly independent, would we even need Christ for anything at all?  I'll go one further, is our current relationship with Jesus one based on our own needs or our desire to know Him?  Is our relationship with Him one of convenience or one of necessity?  Do we desire Him, or just His help in trouble?

18And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. 19Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 21Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Matthew 8: 18 - 22 NKJV

Make no mistake, Jesus delights on being our helper and when we call on Him, but He also delights when we make Him our one and all and place our trust in Him only.  There is a reason that Proverbs tells us to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."  For this blind trust, this leap of faith will ultimately bring us into a blessed relationship with Christ.  In this relationship we no longer see Jesus as simply a provider and protector, but as someone we come to willingly because we desire to be in His presence.  It is no longer a relationship of convenience but one of love and adoration.  My friends, what is God but...love.  He who loved us first. He who loved us enough to become sin on our behalf that we might live with Him...that love.  That doesn't mean that if we are currently in a relationship of convenience with Jesus that He will ignore us, that is not who He is.  No, despite our own stubborn false idea of independence, Christ will continue to love and cherish us as His own.  He will just do so from the background, waiting for us to call on Him...again.  Our Lords love and compassion for  us will not allow Him to abandon His children.  On the contrary, it is our own foolish belief in our own independence which will widen the gap between ourselves and Christ.  Hist true love will never abandon or throw us away.

~Scott~