EVER Closer!
- gkaisersoze .
- Aug 20
- 3 min read
I have been thinking about so many who are addicted to various things but as always, self and not relationship to God is the worst. The truth is that plenty of nice and on the surface "successful" people are addicts, not just those lying unconscious in an alley somewhere.
It doesn't take rocket science to understand it is never God's will for us to live in the self-inflicted prison of addiction.
I mean ANY addiction except that of growing ever-deeper relationship as we abide in the love of God, the faith, hope and love that saves us by daily and even moment-by-moment conversational, acted-out relationship with God in Christ.
Without the Spirit of God we have nothing regardless of what we may think we have. Read that again please. Paul states such blatantly in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 in his famous discourse on what love is and is not.
"Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him" (Romans 8.9b), "Without Me you can do nothing" (Jesus in John 15.5b), "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5.12)
Then I think of a rather difficult, even ominous comment Jesus makes in Matthew 13.12- "For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away."
The context seems to be not simply our goods or services rendered but I'm convinced there's more to it than classic definitions about talents... character and that of genuine relationship with Jesus is core. Few would argue God isn't most concerned about that than what we produce in the practical while on this planet!
The point He is making is that a deeper, growing relationship between ourselves and the God Who made us, desires us, wants the deepest friendship with us must bloom. We've got to move beyond being willing to establish it to indeed GROWING in our relationship with Him!
Whatever else it truly is, addiction is a kind of spiritual adultery. It is idolatry, never in sync with the worship of the true living God.
Too many fall into it by sitting on a kind of spiritual "plateau" figuring "Well, that's enough, I'm saved, I'm in, all set, I can park and stay right where I am in my closeness and loving obedience to God because Jesus did it all for me on the cross." That sort of thing keeps us in spiritual kindergarten, even infancy where in effect we take a spiritual sabbatical from reflecting Jesus and ever-more fruit of the Spirit. Notice what I've just stated? Fruit -of-the-Spirit! What is Christ-centered, genuine Christian character if not that?
Jesus talks a great deal about this concept via His defining statements about what a true follower, yes, "disciple" of His is in John chapter 15. Fruit-bearing on several levels is the "what he has" or the truth is that we really have "nothing" according to Him.
More detail needed? Please see Jesus speaking in Revelation 3.17 Study the context and you will find a local church who He from His Own constant motive of love is calling to repent and grow in the loving relationship which is always the essence of what God so desires between Himself and all of us!
Yes, He may well be our Savior but much like in human marriage there are those who camp out in the legal fact of a marriage declaration and contract, those who play the "meh" card: "I'm saved by Jesus' blood, end of story, full stop" as though this is the real, actual, even final will of God for us while we walk the earth. Not so, not even close -and not closer which is indeed His loving will and desire for us.
Things to think and yup, work on during our journey? I believe so!
Here's a song related to these things which I wrote and recorded many years ago:
As always, thanks for stopping by. -Glenn
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