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We all know that our individual relationship with God is of
prime importance. Studying scripture is
essential in bringing us closer to our Lord and Savior. In the same way, prayer is also crucial. Perhaps some of us are faithful in such
spiritual disciplines; more likely is the fact that we still have a lot of work
to do in that area.
But what if I told you that bible study, prayer, and other
individual disciplines are not the most important part of a Christian’s life?
Sure, those things are necessary – and we should take joy in
them! But if all of us spent the
entirety of our lives with our faces in a book or our heads bowed, who would be
living out that faith? We can mature in our knowledge of the
Heavenly One as much as we want, but if there is no evidence of that knowledge
in our lives, then our efforts will have had very little purpose.
We seem to have the idea that our relationship with God
comes first, and our relationships with others come second. But
this is simply not true.
Don’t get me wrong; no one in our lives should be
equal-status with the Lord. However, our
relationship with Him and our relationship with others are not separate. As 1 John 4:20 explains, “If anyone says, ‘I
love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother
whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
If, in our relationships with others, we are not showing
evidence of the One Whom we claim to know, then our knowledge is of practically
no value. But if we truly are growing in
the knowledge of the Holy One, it will be absolutely unmistakable to those
around us.
Our problem is that we tend to have an individualistic
mindset with our faith. We are taught
that we owe nothing to other people; our faith in God is all that matters. While there is some truth in this, do Paul’s
statements in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 resemble such an attitude?
As Christians, we are called to serve others, putting them
ahead of ourselves (Philippians 2:3). We
cannot continue to isolate ourselves, thinking that we’re choosing that which
is most important, even if that "important" thing is a noble pursuit.
Like I said in last week’s post, balance is the key. If we spend no time with the Lord, yet try to
live out His word in our lives, we will face a contradiction. But in the same way, if we live our lives being
more concerned about what we’re getting from God than what others are
receiving, we will neglect Christ’s calling.
Let us pursue Christ and allow the two sides to fall into
perfect balance, growing as individuals and strengthening Christ’s body as a
whole.