A personal relationship is one that is otherwise described as intimate.
Two dictionary definitions of intimate are:
- Characterized by close personal acquaintance[1]
- Characterized by or involving warm friendship or a familiar association or feeling[2]
When asking the question as to what it means to be personal, and we think of the people we are close to sufficiently to be personal without giving offense, then this is what it means to have a personal relationship with Lord Jesus Christ. More than this, there is a warmth in the feeling (what seems to be an external presence) that is associated with the thoughts that are directed towards Him. Some people feel this warmth only when with other people. Some people feel this presence when they wait upon the Lord. Some people feel this presence when they invite Lord Jesus Christ to come into their innermost being. Consider the following:
- But as for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. (Micah 7:7)
- The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:25-26)
- For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)
- Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.( Revelation 3:20)
- But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:24)
Since I have been a Christian, my thoughts have been orientated towards the Lord God more often than not, even if I have not been walking the highway of righteousness every hour of every day. When one has a relationship with another person, depending upon the level of intimacy within the relationship, this will determine the extent one will be thinking of the other person. Such is the case with Lord Jesus Christ.
How every one else perceives my relationship with Lord Jesus, I am not sure. For those who knew me before I became a Christian, what became evident were the changes in my speech, my attitudes, and my behavior. Instead of being an uncouth, foul-mouthed, irreverent individual, I became less obnoxious, less callous, less arrogant, less self-centered and more considerate and compassionate towards other people.
Consequently, all those atheists thought I had lost my marbles—talk about the futile games people play! Yet when it comes to life and death, the winner takes all. There is nothing futile in my relationship with Lord Jesus Christ; just joy of salvation and the adventures of learning the truth about myself, in respect to the plan and purpose of God.
Footnotes
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