Let me start with
a quote:
"...without
us knowing it, the world has shifted from a society of long-term relationships
to a society of transactional relationships..."1
It’s an
interesting thought isn’t it? When we look at how we interact with each other on
a day to day basis our relationships are very much transactional in nature. (I
am speaking in general here.)
A relationship
matters to us only because we get something out of the transaction. There is no
such thing as long haul.2 If we look at how some social media
platforms work then we can validate this idea can’t we?
And yet, what if
we apply this to our relationship with God? How does that look?
Do we view this
relationship like our brand loyalty, is it based purely on the transaction? We
are in it only so long as we are happy with the product?
Can we even call
it a “relationship” if it’s about gratification only of what we want?
What about what
God wants?
Take a moment and
turn to Hosea chapter 6 verse 6.
“For I desire
steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt
offerings.”
If what we are offering
to God is not based on a deep need in our hearts for ongoing relationship, that
steadfast love, expressed in the Hebrew word ‘hesed,’
then we have
something that is shallow.
It is the same
thought spoken of in Jeremiah 17:8. “His is like a tree planted by water, that
sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its
leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought for it does not
cease to bear fruit.”
If we have our
roots buried deep in Christ, if our all in all is built on an abiding, faithful
relationship with Him, we are fulfilled, and our loyalty is strong.
It becomes not
about us, and our transactional sense of need, but our deeper spiritual
economy.
If our
relationship with God is two way, and focused on Him rather than us, then we
will be strong, and that strength, and stability will show in all those other
relationships that make our lives rich.
Amen.
1. 1. Luongo,
Peter. http://petespeaks.com/does-loyalty-still-matter/
Accessed 1/6/2019
2. 2. If
you have any doubt about this think about football teams. And be honest here. Yes,
we support our team, but what happens when they aren’t doing very well. Are
there not thoughts of abandoning them and jumping on another band wagon until
such time as they start performing to the requisite level? When that happens it’s
as if we never left. Oh, yes, we say, I have always been a supporter.