“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” —Ephesians 2:10
We’ve been exploring the question, “Who am I?” in light of our key verse above, and last week, we talked about our need to understand that we are created by God. This week, we’re going to build on that and look at who we are in relation to God.
You see, God created us for a reason. And one of the primaries reasons He made us was so that we could have a relationship with Him.
God doesn’t need anyone or anything else to be complete. Unlike us, He doesn’t rely on others in order to be relationally healthy. God is whole in and of Himself.
But, in His goodness, God desires to be in relationship with us. He finds joy in knowing us and making Himself known to us. Isn’t that amazing? God, who doesn’t need us, still wants to be with us. That’s incredible!
There are days when I feel like no one wants to be around me. If I’m being honest, there are some days when I don’t even feel like being around myself. But even on those days, God still wants to be with me. He still wants to know me. He still wants a relationship with me.
God loves me that much. And He loves you the same way.
If God created us to be in relationship with Him, then it only makes sense that our relationship with God is very important. In fact, it’s the most important relationship you’ll ever have. Even above your relationship with your spouse, or your children, or your pet, or your parents, your relationship with God matters the most.
It matters because when you’re in right relationship with God, everything else takes care of itself. If you’re succeeding at the most important thing, all the other stuff will fall into place. When we’re right with God, we’re right with the world. And when we aren’t in the right place with God, that’s when our lives begin to fall apart.
Adam and Eve found that out the hard way. Last week, we read about how God created the first man and woman in His image. And after He did, He placed them in a beautiful, luxurious garden. And every day, He came and walked with them there.
Can you imagine? These people got to literally walk with God. They got to take a stroll with Him. They got to look at Him. They got to talk with Him face-to-face. I only wish that I could have that kind of closeness with God!
Of course, they messed it up. Adam and Eve rebelled against God and got themselves kicked out of the garden. And when they did, they stopped walking with God, at least in the literal sense. Because God can’t be in the presence of sin, so it separates us from Him.
But that doesn’t mean we aren’t still meant to walk with God. It’s different now. Now, our walk with God is more symbolic than literal. But it’s still a part of who we are, and we’re meant to walk with Him each and every day. There’s a verse in Galatians that touches on this.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” —Galatians 5:16
Here, Paul is speaking directly about our relationship with God, and he uses this image of a walk. He tells us that we should walk in the Spirit, that is, in tune with Holy Spirit of God. If we want to please God and live His way, we have to walk in constant step with Him.
That means building our relationship with Him. A healthy relationship with God is built through simple, Godly habits. It means spending time with God, just like you would with a friend or loved one. We spend time with God when we read His word and when we pray to Him. It sounds simple because it is! And that’s all it takes to start growing closer to God.
I like to take walks as often as I can and use them as a time to reflect. Recently, I went for a stroll with my dog Panko. We were walking the edge of my property, and I was imagining changes I’d like to make to it: clear some brush here, put up a fence there. Our walk was a great opportunity to spend time together and to ask questions that were worth considering.
If we’re going to be successful in life and in our relationships with God, we’ve got to ask ourselves questions. But more importantly, we’ve got to ask Him questions. When we walk with God, we have to be willing to speak, but we also have to make time to listen and respond to whatever it is He’s telling us.
Time with God teaches us where we can do better in serving Him. We all have areas where we struggle, and God wants us to improve so that we can be closer to Him and live out His calling for our lives. Just as friends tend to rub off on you, the more time we spend with God, the more like Him we’ll be. And that’s our whole goal in life: to be like God.
He doesn’t expect perfection, but He does expect us to always try to get better. And we can only do that when we’re in constant communication and relationship with Him. When we are, we can’t help but become more like Him.
It’s an honor that God invites us into a relationship with Him. And the truth is that we can only understand who we are when we see ourselves in light of Him. We are made to walk through life with Him as our partner and guide. When we don’t, we get lost. But when we do, He leads us exactly where we need to go.
So let me ask you: How’s your relationship with God? Have you admitted that you need one? No one can live up to their full potential without it. Why not take a step closer to Him today by just talking to Him and listening to His word? I promise He’ll never steer you wrong. And you never know; you just might find yourself along the way.
That’s all I’ve got for this week. If you haven’t yet, go back and read the first two articles in this series on identity: Who Are You? and Created By God. Next week, we’ll finish up this series on the question, “Who am I?” I hope you’ll join us.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next week.
To your fitness!