Friendship With God

It seems I am in an inward tug-a-war as I realize the battle between knowing truth in my heart and actually walking it out. I would tell anyone that I am completely uninterested in religion, yet I unknowingly walk in it most of the time. I can talk the talk nicely, but I want to see my life as it really is, not as I think it is, covered in mere religious words and ideas. I think everyone would agree no one needs or wants anymore religion. I really want to know and experience Jesus. If it is possible for a heart to encounter God in such intimacy, than I want to be a candidate. With a bit of fear and trembling, I'm asking that a bull's eye be placed on my heart and that God would find a place in my heart that He can relax, enjoy, and find rest. I want to stop caring so much about religious duties and begin caring about God Himself. May we be those that honestly care for God -- what is really on His heart! Things that we care for are cultivated. Whether it's the main things in life, such as our families, or smaller less important things like yard work or gardens, we give our time and energy to making sure those things are in tact. It is no different with God. He really wants us to cultivate friendship with Him and be those that carry His heart to others.

I add "with a bit of fear and trembling" because, though I don't know a lot about the subject, the invitation to friendship with God is more than what I once thought it was. I think about whom the Lord called His friends throughout the Bible and I realize the life lived in friendship with God is one that is costly -- at least with the perspective of earthly things. It is laying aside what we think we deserve or need and with joy in our hearts sharing the thoughts, burdens, and cares that the very God of the universe carries in His heart. This is a daily struggle for me personally as I encounter nearly every day the selfishness in my heart as to what I think I need or deserve. If only I would lay aside temporary things to carry the perspective of heaven in my heart so much so that I die to what I want, think I need, and believe I deserve. It is truly a narrow path that many in the Western world criticize and call unnecessary. Yet to God, it is a life lived in wisdom and an invitation to greatness in His Kingdom. We lay down our lives to gain Him. We say yes to a life of being poor in spirit, of being desperate for His touch on our hearts, spending our energy for the sake of others, and being willing to carry His heart for the poor and forgotten of the earth. Although foolish to many, I would think that those who find this place in God would begin to believe that the temporary pleasures of this earth are as nothing compared to encountering true pleasure that flows from God's heart to those who hunger for Him. Bitterness has no root in them because they walk the way of tenderness, forgiving others and walking in humility and love. Jesus, be the love of our hearts -- that we would not walk in religion, but in real encounters with you.