Early in my career a boss gave me his philosophy of keeping a good relationship with his boss: “Whatever my boss thinks is important, I think is important. “ He practiced that faithfully and of course, he was giving me advice as to how to manage a good relationship with him. Another one of his philosophies was: “If your attitude is good, I can forgive mistakes.” I worked hard making sure that I understood what Bill thought was important and maintaining the right attitude.
I thought a lot about these philosophies in terms of my relationship with God. Generally, your boss has control over your future within that company, so you strive to make him/her happy with your performance. It plays a very important part in pay increases, promotions, benefits, etc. So, I worked to keep the boss happy, BUT did I give the same consideration and effort to my relationship with God? He created me, provides blessings, forgives my sins and decides where I will spend eternity which is far more important! Now that I’m older*, I’m pretty sure God did not get the same effort that Bill did. I went to church and went through the motions of being a Christian, looked the part, but did not give whole heart.
Conversations with folks I’ve known:
Q: How’s your relationship with God?
A: Yes, I believe in God.
Q: That’s great but how’s your relationship?
A: Everything is OK, I guess!
Q: Do you pray, read your Bible, go to church and serve Him to grow your relationship?
A: Well, no but I don’t believe you need all that to keep a good relationship with Him. Afterall, He loves me the way I am.
Q: How’s your relationship with God?
A: To be honest it’s not as good as it once was!
Q: You must have moved away because God didn’t move away from you. What happened?
A: Well, I had the following happen________________. I feel like God let me down!
The blank can be filled in with most any struggle in life we are experiencing now or have experienced. All of us have had our struggles, but we should not use those struggles as the excuse for the lack of our relationship with God.
For any relationship to thrive, attention must be paid to it. Typical answer is: “Yes, but we both are trying to move ahead in our careers, we have two kids and they are involved in school, sports and scouts, etc. I’m also involved with Rotary, Lions club (take your choice) and I’m serving people through them. GOD UNDERSTANDS!”
There is absolutely nothing God does not understand but he is a jealous God and expects to be our number one priority. Let’s see, God came in after careers, kids, school, sports, scouts and a civic club at best! He’s probably disappointed with the relationship!
Max Lucado is the author of On The Anvil. He describes the book as thoughts on being shaped into God’s image. He believes that our relationship with God is like a tool’s relationship with the blacksmith. There are several verses in Bible that refer to us as instruments/tools. Acts 9:15, John 15:16 and Romans 6:15. The best one for me is II Timothy 2:21 “… an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to do any good work”
Max writes: “We are all somewhere in the blacksmith’s shop. We are either on the scrap pile, on the anvil, in the Master’s hands or in the tool chest. (Some of us have been in all three.)”
“Anvil time reminds us of who we are and who God is. We should not try to escape it. God sees our life from beginning to end. He may lead us through a storm at thirty so we can endure a hurricane at age sixty. An instrument is useful only if it’s in the right shape. A dull ax or a bent screwdriver needs attention, and so do we. A good blacksmith keeps his tools in shape. So does God. Should God place you on his anvil, be thankful. It means he thinks you’re still worth reshaping.”
How do I know if I’m on the anvil? Read I Peter 1:6-7
I’m paraphrasing here: Time on God’s anvil clarifies and defines God’s evaluation of our relationship with Him. If you feel you are on the anvil, step back and take time to consider why you are there. I believe that much of our relationship with God is about carrying out His business.
*I do not use the term “elderly” to describe myself. Elderly is for those older than me!?!?
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Thanks
Mike