#RelationshipOverReligion

I was about ten years old when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour.  I remember going to a big service at the pavilion in Simon (commonly referred to as Seamoon) where a Trinidadian minister shared the word.  I don't remember everything he spoke about, but I remember him making an altar call and I remember poking my mom to ask her if I could go.  I can clearly remember her telling me that it was my decision but she would go with me.  It was a school night.  I was ten years old.  I wasn't thinking about my friends or people looking at me but for some reason, I was thinking about this relationship I was about to build. 

I was born and raised in church; I remember there were times when a few of my classmates in the primary school referred to me as a church rat but for some reason, those words didn't do anything to me.  Name calling was something I suffered from a lot in school and I was constantly teased; however, being labelled as a church rat didn't seem to phase me.  As the years went by, I remember gaining a bit of respect from my peers because I openly confessed my love for Jesus. 

Before long, my denominational status seemed to mean more than my relationship.  It was all about the right doctrine, the right day to worship and the few bible verses I knew that pointed to us being right and them being wrong.  As I dived into the scriptures to memorize the ones that would give me the upper hand, it didn't take me a long time before I lost my way and I became enlightened. I was the typical in-the-pond-out-the-pond kinda gal as I struggled with trying to understand this true religion. 

My college experience placed a dent on spiritual surface and at that time, I could have been described as someone who completely lost her way - except for going to church. Oh! That wasn't an option in my parents' house.  You had to; there were no questions asked - you just had to!  I was no longer an influence to my friends but they were influencing me.

It was in my first week of University at a chapel session where Rev. Paul Bunsee spoke, that I had a rude awakening.  I was at a place where I desperately needed God in my life again.  I was at a crossroad where I saw that everything in my life was about to go wrong if I didn't make it right with God.  It was like I had Him, but at the same time, I didn't. Crazy right? 

I took me eleven years after becoming saved and water baptized to realize that my search for that true religion was not about to save me for eternal damnation; my relationship with God was what mattered most.  My church couldn't save me, my friends couldn't save me, my interest in other religions and sects couldn't save me and my parents weren't about to save me.  My salvation came solely from my Saviour, Jesus Christ.  

I arrived at a point where I had to spend less time searching the scriptures to prove someone else wrong and focus on searching the scriptures to edify my spiritual mind and body.  I had to spend less time praying because it was a ritual but praying because I needed to strengthen my relationship with my Heavenly Father.  I had to spend less time fasting to prove that I could do it too and fast because I needed my breakthrough.  I had to let go of the hurt I was feeling and forgive some difficult people with the reminder that Christ forgave me with His life as a price, for things I did that were far worst.

That is what your relationship is all about, and until we get to a place where we see that and we practice it and get it right, there's so much that we can miss.  God wants us to look past our religious (denominational) difference and beliefs and focus on creating and maintaining a relationship with Him.  

I once heard a saying that God doesn't want to be our sugar daddy but He wants to be just what He should be to us - our Heavenly Father.  He doesn't want us to only come to Him when we need something but He wants us to develop such a relationship with Him that we are always in constant contact and conversation with Him.  He wants to be so close to us that we don't have to wonder and question if He's really there.  He wants us to know Him so well that when the enemy comes around we don't have to fiddle with the pages of our bible to read our counterattacks to Him - He wants us to be so in tune with His word that we know them like the back of our hands.  That, friends, is where the importance lies.

Consider, as your read this, to build a relationship with God or if you have already done so, strengthen your relationship with Him.  At the end of this lifetime, the church you go would not matter - your relationship with Him is what is most important! Be Blessed !