Posted by yoditkifle on Sep 22, 2014 in Life: Empty & Full

16 years ago, I sat in the pews of chapel at my boarding school and struggled to understand what the preacher was talking about.

 My mind hadn’t grasped who Jesus was. I had heard the stories of what He did for us and how He died for us.   But if you were to ask me then what they really meant for me, I couldn’t tell you.

I sat confused.

16 years later, I live amazed by Him and I live for Him. Not that I have figured Him out completely, but within those years, my eyes, my ears, my heart and my life opened up to know God. His love. His grace. His mercy. His ways. His word.

Someone recently asked me how  I manage to stay this committed? How did I get to where I am in God?

I had asked myself that question once before, but I think this was the first time I received such a deep revelation about God and what a relationship with Him means.

I could have easily answered my friend by saying it was through reading my Word + praying + going to church+ going to conferences+ worshiping + doing good deeds + [whatever fits] equaled a closer relationship with God.

But that would be FAR from the truth.

As I sat to think about this question and reflect on my journey, one simple truth resonated in my heart:

 There is NO formula to a relationship with God.

God is far from a formulaic equation. He goes beyond that kind of limitation.

 Formulas are predictable. Our lives are NOT.

A relationship with God isn’t a 1-2-3 step program, nor is it a check off the list kind of task.

You don’t arrive because you followed a tutorial.

I don’t know if you have read the bible, but if we have an honest look at those whom God chose to tell us about, they don’t have pretty and primped stories. No. They were messy. Complicated. Dramatic. Gut-wrenching stories.

Consider David, whom God called a “man after His own heart.” Committed adultery. Committed murder. Committed rebellion.  Yet he captured God’s heart.

Consider Peter, who denied Jesus 3 times. Not at different points in his life. No, it happened one after the other, in one setting. Yet, Jesus said He would build His church upon the fact that Peter had the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God.

Consider the woman caught in adultery. Brought to Jesus by the teachers of the law because what she had done was damnable. Yet, Jesus spoke these words that would forever change the trajectory of her life: “Neither do I condemn you…” (John 8:11)

I don’t know about you but the way God responds to each of these lives is outside of any formula. It’s within the heart of that person. Unique. Tailor-made.

His love doesn’t respond to formula. It responds to desperation. It responds to hunger. It responds to the cries of our individual and unique hearts for the more that we didn’t even know we needed until our eyes were pried open to this light, this love, this touch that felt different from any other thing we had ever chased.

He responds to our everyday mess-ups. Failures. Disobedience. Rebellion.

Jesus responds to those who are looking for an answer. Not to those who think they know HOW to find that answer.

So how do I stay committed?

I keep living. I keep walking. I keep waking up every day in NEED of Him. I keep running back even when I want to run away. I keep seeing and experiencing His love for me and that has made me run faster and faster back to Him.

I think the great philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo, said it best when he wrote:

 “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement.”

I have fallen in love with my Savior. And that has made all the difference.