A Genuine Relationship
A Genuine Relationship
Characters:
Matt -
a young man who wants to know what
it means to have a genuine relationship with God
Shari -
a good
friend who is willing to tell him
what it means and what he must do to have
that kind of a relationship.
Scene I
The scene opens with Matt and Shari sitting on the couch talking.
Matt: Are you
sure you don't want to go to Eric's party
tonight?
Shari: Yes, I'm sure.
Matt: Why don't you like Eric?
Shari: Oh, it
isn't Eric that I don't like, it's his earthly ways
that I don't like.
Matt: But doesn't he claim to be a Christian?
Shari: He
says he is but his words and actions don't bear
witness
to his claim.
Matt: He goes to church all the time.
Shari: That doesn't make him a Christian, only a church-goer.
Matt
(looking
puzzled): Why would someone who is not a
Christian
want to go
to church?
Shari: There are a lot of different reasons.
Matt: Such as?
Shari: Well,
your parents could make you go because they
go.
Or you might
like the social part of
church, where you
meet
with your friends to have fun.
But your thoughts are
far
from God
and having an intimate and personal
relationship
with Him.
Matt: You and
your family go to church all the time.
Why do you go?
Shari: Well,
at first because my parents went and they
took
me with them.
But then I started enjoying
the socializing
and
fun that the church offered
for the young people. But
there
seemed to
be something lacking in my life
that I couldn't
quite
understand. I saw my parents coping
with the trials
and
tribulations of everyday life with a peace and assurance that I
didn't
see in many other people, so I started asking them some
questions.
Matt: And what did they say?
Shari: Let's
go make ourselves some sandwiches and I will
tell
you while
we eat.
Scene II
The
scene opens with Shari and Matt sitting at
the table with their sandwiches
and cold drinks.
Matt
(starting
to take a bite out of his sandwich): So, tell me
what they said!
Shari
(sipping
her drink, pauses): They said that going to church
wouldn't make
any difference in my
life, if I didn't take the
time
to establish my own
personal and intimate relationship
with
God.
That being religious, always going
to church, but not having
my own
personal
relationship with God, was just for
show and
not
a genuine relationship with God
at all.
They said that if they
never
went to
church again, they would still maintain their
personal and
intimate
relationship with God. And they would accomplish that
by reading
their Bible daily and asking God in prayer to
help
them obey its
instructions
for their
life,
so that they could live
a life pleasing
and glorifying to Him.
They said that going
to
church
was a place
to meet together with others,
but it should
never replace one's
private and personal
moments spent
with
God each
day
building
a lasting
relationship with
Him and
learning how
to live His way,
instead of the world's way.
Matt: Wow! So
the title "Christian" could mean different
things
to different
people.
Shari: That's
right. But only a genuinely personal and intimate
relationship
with God can
make a
difference in the way you
think
and talk and act.
Matt: So that
is what you meant about Eric - he goes to church
and
claims to
be a Christian, but it
hasn't made any difference
in the
way he thinks or talks
or acts.
Shari: Exactly! He still has a worldly lifestyle, not a Godly lifestyle.
Matt: You
know, I have noticed that about you. You do seem to be
different in
the way you think and
act than most of us. But I didn't
know why.
Shari: Well,
I started doing exactly what my parents said they
did -
spending
quality time with God the
Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit each
day through Bible
reading and prayer.
And
it really
helped me to
understand how God wants me
to think and talk
and act. But then I
have the
responsibility of trying to actually
live my life that way.
Just learning the way
something should
be is not enough,
you have to
do it as well.
Matt:
So that's the reason you are not always willing to go
along
with the crowd.
I always wanted to do what everybody
else was
doing, so I would fit
in.
Shari: I
know. It isn't easy choosing to live a Godly lifestyle
when
everyone you
know has chosen a
worldly lifestyle.
Matt: How do you do it?
Shari: I
couldn't on my own. It is only with God's help that
I can.
He promised
that He would never
leave me nor forsake
me, so I
know that I am not alone in
my efforts to live life His
way. When
God the Son came to earth to make a way
for us
to be free from
a worldly lifestyle
and its consequences,
people considered
Him
different too. So He knows the
obstacles that
I face. And He,
along with
the Holy Spirit,
are ready and willing to help me stay
true to
God the
Father's
way of thinking and talking and acting,
just like
He did when
He walked the earth.
Matt: Is that
where this personal and intimate relationship
with
God makes the
difference?
Shari: Yes,
if I didn't stay connected to God the Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit
through daily Bible
reading and prayer,
I would
feel alone and unable to resist
the world's way of
thinking
and
talking and acting that is all around me on a
daily
basis.
Matt: I
really would like to give up my worldly way of thinking
and talking and
acting. How
do I
go about having a personal
and
intimate relationship with God
like you do?
Shari: Just
by telling Him what you want to do and asking
for
His help.
Matt: But I don't know how to talk to God.
Shari: It
isn't hard. He is always right there waiting for
you
to talk to Him,
just like you
talk to
me. He has always
loved you
and wanted a personal and
intimate relationship
with
you. But
He
never demands His own way, so He
waits
for you to want it too,
before He
starts helping
you to have it.
Matt: Will you help me talk to God?
Shari: Sure,
just repeat the words I say after me:
Dear God the Father,
Son, and Holy
Spirit - I just
learned
that
You have always loved me and
that You want a personal
and
intimate
relationship with me, and I want to
tell You that
I want
that with You too. I don't really
like what I think or
say or do,
so would You please help me to think and speak
and do things
that would reflect a Godly lifestyle, instead
of a worldly lifestyle.
Thank You, Amen.
Matt
(in awe
of what has just happened): Is that all I have
to do?
Shari
(smiling at her friend): No, that is only the beginning.
Now
you must
commit to spending quality time with God in
daily Bible
reading and prayer,
so He can do
what you asked
of Him - help you
reflect a Godly lifestyle in
everything you
think and
say and do.
Remember, a personal relationship with
another person takes the
commitment of
both people to last.
And to have a
genuine relationship,
those two people have to
be
willing to share themselves
with one
another openly and
intimately on a daily basis.
Matt: What if I mess up?
Shari: As
long as you are sincere about wanting to have a
personal
and intimate
relationship with
God and make every
effort to live life
His way, instead of the
world's way, He
will never
give up on you.
Just confess your mistakes and
He
will forgive you and help you to
start
all over again for
as long as it takes. He is
very patient with
those who have
an earnest
desire for an intimate and personal
relationship
with Him and are willing to obey His
instructions for
living a Godly life.
Scriptural instructions with a promise:
"Thy
Word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
"Not
everyone who says to Me,
Lord, Lord, will enter the
Kingdom of
Heaven, only those
who do
what My Father in
Heaven wants."
Matthew 7:21
"Why do
you call Me, Lord,
but not do what I say?"
Luke 6:46
"You are
to love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and
with all
your
soul, and with all
your
strength, and
with all your
might."
Luke 10:27
"Far
more blessed are those who hear
the Word of God and
obey it!" Luke 11:28
Let us pray
in agreement that we will
follow the
instructions of God's
Word
so He
can fulfill His
promises:
Thank You
Loving Heavenly Father, Beloved
Savior, and
Precious Holy Spirit
that You will
help us to
love You with
all of our heart, and
soul, and strength,
and might.
And thank You
that You
will help us to stay focused on Your
Word
and to obey it, so that our thoughts and
words
and
actions will be of You and
not of the
world. To Your honor
and glory and praise.
Amen.
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