Lingering a little too long?

Of all possessions, a friend is most precious. (Herodotus)

Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah! (Romans 5:9-11)

I would say I am blessed to have a 'best friend', but throughout the years, I have been blessed to have many friends. Some stick closer than others, don't they? You are most fortunate if there is always at least one who is 'just there' through thick and thin. There is one friendship we can never neglect - that which we share with God himself. When we were (and are) at our worst - he is right there to set things right in our lives.

Today's blessing is that we are constantly being 'expanded' in Christ Jesus. We are never 'stagnant' or 'just existing' when we pursue this friendship with God. Being put on right terms with him means we are free to pursue just have we have been pursued. Tenacious pursuit - that is what God desires of us. As a result of our pursuit, we find our lives are 'deepened' - there is no longer that shallowness of self-control. 

Religious pursuit doesn't bring a change to our lives, but a genuine relationship with God does. When we put our hope and trust in his 'leadership' over our lives, we find there is no reason for 'religion' any longer. Religion kept us bound to our sinful past - doing over and over again the things we thought would help us grow and deepen in our relationship with God but finding it did little to bring us any closer. When we stop trying to be 'made right' and just enter into this relationship with our whole heart, we find the pursuit changes.

We are no longer content to just linger in unproductive practices - we want to experience the depth and breadth of God's love, his plan for us, and his purpose lived out in us. Just sayin!