Tammy On Tuesday ~ Rightly Relating

PINIMAGESchool has started for many and this often means getting back into some type of a routine. I don’t know about you but routine makes me feel like life is a little less out of control. I welcome this new season.

But I was thinking back to something God was teaching me this summer while on vacation. I had the opportunity to leave a week earlier than Mark and take the kids to our family vacation home in Marquette, Michigan with my sister’s family and parents. This meant I would make the 18-20 hour drive without Mark for the first time. But the kids insisted that they’d keep me awake and entertained. I didn’t know if that was going to be a good thing or not so good.

We arrived safely and the trip was pretty uneventful. I decided when we’d stop, where we’d stop, how often we’d stop. I decided what we’d listen to on the radio. I was in charge and all the decisions lay with me.

The week passed quickly as vacations often do. I counted down the days when Mark would arrive. I couldn’t wait to see him. Meanwhile, I spent time reading and lounging while the kids played in the lake. I slept in a lot. We took trips into town when the mood hit me. I had no one really to run things by when I had a notion to do something.

On the day Mark arrived, the kids and I headed to the tiny airport outside of town. We stared out the window waiting for his plane to land. Once he arrived and we shared a group hug, we jumped into the car. After we talked for a bit I wanted to tap on the radio and play the music loud but Mark was tired so we kept the trip home quiet.

The next morning, Mark woke up early, his biological clock still working on Delaware time. I was already growing accustom to later nights and sleeping in. Before I could shake the haze from my brain Mark was asking if I’d like to go for a jog.   I love exercising with Mark but I also love to sleep and we were on vacation. Decisions. Decisions.

More and more I realized while I was alone I simply considered my own thoughts about what I’d do and how I’d do it. I didn’t have to consult with anyone really. But because I’d rather spend my time, and my vacation, with my loving husband, it meant I would need to consider what he wanted to do as well. Not just on one or two matters, but in all things. Because we love each other, we are committed to staying rightly related.

When I returned home, I was talking with some friends about the importance of being “rightly related” to the Lord. What does that look like? I was trying to explain to them that walking with the Lord meant to stay rightly related to Him moment-to-moment through out the day. Then I thought about my vacation. I told them the story about Mark.

Could you imagine if Mark arrived and we stayed on different schedules? Or if we both always demanded things our own way? What if we just met up one day a week while we were there to check in with each other? Being rightly related means we consider each other moment-to-moment each day. It means we stay connected to each other’s desires. We honor and respect each other. We seek to serve and help each other.

My relationship with Mark is not perfect. We are not perfect. We sometimes hurt each other. We are not always “RIGHTLY” related. When we realize we are not relating “rightly”, one or both of us sees the importance of reconciling our differences. We see the importance of making allowances for each other. This has been a lifelong lesson.

Our relationship is a mirror of what it means for believers to stay rightly related to Christ. I’m so thankful that as we stay rightly related to Jesus, He always seeks our good. He is always faithful to help us, teach us and guide us. He always gets it right…even when I don’t.  When I’m not rightly related to Jesus I am always to blame.

What I want to emphasize in today’s post is that this is the only way Jesus intends to walk with us – daily, staying rightly related to Him.

Are you rightly related to Jesus? Or are you content with catching up with Him once a week while gathering for church?

Do you consider Him throughout the moments of the day? Or does He seem distant and unfamiliar?

I want to challenge you to take a moment and assess your relationship with Jesus. Ask yourself:

Am I rightly related to Christ through salvation? Placed my faith and trust in Christ for salvation reconciling me with a Holy God.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17

You can find out more by clicking here: How to Know God Through Christ

Am I rightly related to Christ through surrender? Surrendered to His plan and purposes for my life.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.  1 Cor. 6:19-20

Have you fully surrendered your heart and life to Jesus? Often people step into a relationship with the Lord through salvation and then refuse to give Him control of every area of their lives.

Am I rightly related through submission? Submitted to His authority and desires.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. James 4:7-10

Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24

Rightly relating to Jesus is more than just communicating. It’s accepting His authority over your life and living in obedience  to Him even when it’s difficult. You are no longer in charge.

Am I rightly related to Christ through daily moment-to-moment fellowship? Spending time with the Lord through prayer and reading His Word.

You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.  Deuteronomy 5:33

Being confident of this very thing, that hewhich hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

Rightly relating to Jesus is only possible when we know His desires and instructions. We can trust His instructions are good because He is perfect and His ways are good. Consider Him throughout the day as you make decisions

Lord, help me to stay rightly related to You moment-to-moment throughout this day.  Thank you for the promise to walk with me and help me on this journey through life.  Show me areas of my life that hinder a right relationship with you and give me the courage and wisdom to change.  Thank you for loving me, Amen.