On Tuesday morning, while doing some administrative teacher duties, I was talking to a junior school student about being a Christian. I told her that making the choice to be a Christian was the best decision I had made in my life. To my surprise, she responded: “Me too, sir; I accept the Lord and I get baptized, but it hard sometimes. Sir, it hard.”
I told the female student that being a Christian was all about a relationship with God, and relationships take time to build. As an example I asked her: “Is the young lady sitting next to you a close friend?”
“Yes, sir, since second form,” she replied.
“Do you know more about her now than you did then?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s because you have developed a relationship with her and it took time to do that. As the relationship grew, you understood her more; it’s the same thing with God.” Some people have perverted and misrepresented the Christian faith in many ways. They paint Christianity as a dos and don’ts religion and they make people believe that once they become a Christian, they will get everything they want and all their problems will go away.
For those who have believed this garbage, I am here to tell you that Christianity is all about relationship and service. Christianity is the only religion that is based on relationship with God. It’s the only religion that a deity wants a relationship with His servants and where works alone don’t get you closer to Him.
My wife and I have been married for three years but have 13 years of relationship. Over the years, I have gained lots of knowledge and developed a greater understanding of her. As our relationship grew and continues to grow, more is revealed about her, which has increased my appreciation and understanding of this beautiful person.
The things I know and understand about my wife, a stranger will never be privy to. Why? Because they have no relationship with her.
My relationship with her isn’t based on dos and don’ts but how I can serve her lovingly and, as I do that, there are things I stop doing and others I start out of a desire to love her and serve her. It’s the same thing with God.
I have been a Christian for 13 years and there are things about God that I understand now that I didn’t ten years ago and – guess what? There are some things I still don’t understand but as my relationship grows, I know more will be revealed.
I don’t focus my Christian walk on dos and don’ts either but on loving God and serving Him. As my love for Christ grows over time, there are things that I will naturally let go and stop doing; there are places I won’t go anymore; there are friendships I would have to end; some music, videos and pictures I would have to delete and stop watching; my vocabulary and communication would change and my attitude and mindset adjusted.
All of this is motivated by love. If I say I love God, then I must do things to honour my words. How can I say I love Him, but not follow His commandments? It is important to note that this takes time. Some of these things took me ten years to do, others only two years. Relationships take time.
You may be wondering how to build your relationship with God. I suggest reading your Bible; spending time in prayer, meditation and worship; joining and frequently attending a church filled with the power and truth of God; talking to people who have a great relationships with God; attending Christian conferences and camps and doing some research.
Atheists and non-believers will never be able to understand God or the things written by and about Him in the Bible because they don’t have a relationship with Him. Unless they have a personal relationship with God, they will never understand Him.
God will never force anyone to remain in a relationship with Him as He has given us free choice. If you do backslide, just slide back and, I assure you, His arms are wide open to receive you.
• Corey Worrell is a former Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. Email coreyworrell@gmail.com.
