I believe a key understanding of having a relationship, a personal relationship with Christ has a lot to do with making conscious choices.
As such, I think I’m actually gaining more awareness of what it means as one begins or continues to travel a path towards the Almighty.
In attempting to do, it becomes more and more obvious that choosing which path to take when you come to the fork in the road is more a matter of choice than it is a matter of circumstance or accident or fate.
Once you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, what’s in your heart takes (or should take) priority over what’s in your mind or certainly what comes out of your mouth.
I believe this is where faith is challenged and professed ignorance falls by the wayside, even as we desperately want to claim ignorance as if it is a defense (or excuse) for unholy actions or hypocritical conduct. The proof is in one’s heart.
Like the child who responds in silence to the parent who states, “I know you know the difference between right and wrong, or I know you know you weren’t raised that way.”
The silent child knows in his or her heart that the parent is correct. No answer is the answer.
And you know what? I believe the same thing happens with God.
No matter the situation or circumstance, when you acknowledge God and your relationship to Him, you cannot use the excuse that you don’t know, you didn’t have control or your sin was an accident.
Remember this is God we’re talking about and your heart He’s talking to. You can deny it if you want to but again no answer is an answer and even indecision is a decision.
Faith in the face of temptation doesn’t mean we will automatically make the correct choice. As a matter of fact, more often than not, we’ll let God down as well as ourselves.
A true understanding of faith, however, won’t keep us down.
Through faith and that personal relationship with God, each and every one of us can and must get up and try again, instill the face of others or even the same temptation that we succumbed to in the first place.
You see this personal relationship makes you aware of the distance between you and God, much like that of the distance between you and someone you love. You can feel it. Absence does make the heart grow fonder.
In this case, time and distance from God bring you no inner peace and you know it. Until you submit and admit to this very personal reality, you cannot and will not recognize that you have a choice.
We always do. We have the power to remove the barriers and indeed get closer to God.
One thing is for sure. You indeed do know when you’re heading away from God. He hasn’t moved. You have.
“Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven; whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” (Romans 4:7-8)
Is this possible? It is if one can get to “…circumcision of the heart by the (Holy) spirit….” (Romans 2:29)
All things are possible to those who love the Lord.
Like a child who knows he has disappointed a loving parent, there is no joy until the relationship is in balance again.
Or, the couple who realizes anger and argument cannot last forever. Things must be resolved in order to have conjugal peace.
Walk with God, attempt to walk with God and I assure you, you’ll know when you’re out of step. You’ll feel it and it will make you miserable.
I guess what I’m saying is when you know you wrong, just reach and try to touch God and I guarantee you, God will be there before you ever actually move your hand. May God bless and keep you always.
