God is Not my Personal Lord and Savior

Now, before any of you who know me freak out and think that I have completely thrown out my faith, I want to ensure you that I still have a strong relationship with Jesus. So, don't worry! 

Yes, I still have Christ as the foundation of my life. However, Jesus is so much bigger than my relationship with Him. 

Yes, I have a personal relationship with a God who is personal. However, I have been realizing more and more lately that I cannot model God to be a personal god if I want to truly worship Him for who He is. 

Yes, Jesus loves me and died to save me. However, there is so much more than this. 

Being born and raised in America, I have grown far too accustomed to the individualistic culture that serves as a base for all the culture takes part in. We, as a society, want to be different, successful, individuals, powerful, well-known. We strive to reach our personal best and to gain what is best for us personally. I am not bashing on individualistic cultures because there is good in that. But there is so much more. 

I have come to realize that this individualistic worldview has crept into our churches, religions, and view of God. 

God is personal. He desires a personal relationship with each of His children. He wants each of us to know how deeply we are loved on an intimate, personal level. He wants you to draw near to Him so He can speak His truth into your life. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You  were designed in the image of God and you bear great purpose. Every single one of us is deeply valued by the Creator of the Universe. And yet, there is still more. 

God cares about us as individuals because He is personal. But He is not just personal with me or with you. He is personally pursuing His people as a whole. 

WE are the Body of Christ. 

WE are the Bride of Christ. 

WE are wonderfully made.

WE are a royal priesthood. 

WE are God's people. 

WE are His. 

God is our Lord and Savior. He died for our sins. He sent His son to die a criminal's death for us. 

What would happen if we all began to live this out more? How would we treat each other if we truly believed that God wants to chase after His people as a whole? How would we spur one another on toward Jesus more? How would the Church look if we stopped comparing our journeys and started living as a vital part of the whole of who God's heart longs for? What if we started loving others better because Christ gave everything for them too? What if we chose to look at others as fearfully and wonderfully hand crafted by God? 

How would this world change if we all pursued Jesus with all of our being because the Body of Christ depends on it? 

There is more. 

More than an individualistic religion. More than a collectivist worldview. 

We can learn a lot when we start to realize that there is a lot more than our own God, salvation, thoughts, viewpoints, self. 

God is not my personal Lord and Savior because He gave His all for all of us. There is more than me. More than you. He is our Lord and Savior who is personally pursuing each of us and all of us.