Your Relationship With Jesus 

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. 

John 1:12

What is a relationship with Jesus?

The Bible says that if you have given your life to Jesus, if you have been born again, you have become a child of God. You have become a son or daughter of the Most High God. Unlike your physical birth, this did not happen because of some human decision; it happened because spiritually you became a brand-new person.  You became connected to Him.

So, you have a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. You are just like a child of a father. You are His offspring, and He now calls you a son or a daughter. Now He wants to help you grow, to be strong, to become a mature and responsible human being. Just like a father would provide for his daughter or his son, He will provide food, clothes and a roof over your head.

God wants to take care of you, nurture you and help you grow up to be sound, stable and courageous.

God doesn't want you to pray a little prayer and go on with your life in the same direction. When you pray to give you life to Him, He wants to perform a radical, drastic transformation so that you become just like a little child-a baby in Christ-and He wants to feed you, care for you and watch you grow.

You may or may not have a loving and involved earthly father in your life, but your heavenly Father is the best father anyone could ever have. Psalm 68:5 says that God is "a father to the fatherless." Ask Him to be your Father right now and to show you the kind of love a true father has for his children.

God feeds you with His Word. He feeds you by teaching you and filling your life with wisdom from the Bible. He helps you grow and become mature in areas of your life that are not all together, areas in which you have experienced some problems or have some bad habits. God is not mad at you. He understands that you were born with a sinful nature, but now He has given you a new heart, and He wants you to grow up in these areas.

What areas do you need to grow up in?  Let's pause for a moment-this is important.  What are you going to do?  What will you do different?  Don't just read this passively and forget what God is speaking to you!  Take a moment right now and list three areas that you feel you need to grow up in.

The kind of relationship God wants to have with you is one that puts your life back together. Maybe the world has really stomped on you and ripped your life apart in one way or another. God specializes in putting broken lives back together.

Now, list two or three areas of your life that you feel have been ripped apart and that you need God's help to put back together.

Please understand from the very beginning that the Bible says that God loves you like a son or a daughter and He is out for your best. He wants to take the areas you have listed-and event other areas that you don't know about yet-and help you grow and become mature. Pray about these areas right now:

Father, I thank You that You know everything about my life-my past, my present and my future. Lord, I commit these areas to You and ask You to help me grow to become a strong mature man [or woman] of God in these areas. Put my life back together just as a loving earthly father would help his son [or daughter] do. Help me get to be what You want me to be. In Jesus' name, amen.

This article was adapted from Ron Luce's latest book Connecting With God.

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