Christian Living

---

TREATING GOD LIKE
A ONE-NIGHT STAND!

By Chuck Johnson



We all know what the term "one-night stand" refers to. It is a night of pleasure with no sincere or lasting emotions; it's a physical act with "no strings attached". Often you awake the next day feeling empty and full of regret, giving little or no thought to the individual you just left. The "thrill" of the moment is soon forgotten and you are once again submerged in your own empty life trying just to survive.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people today including "Christians" who treat God as nothing more than a one-night stand. They get all excited once or twice a year. Then they go back to their "life" thinking, "That was a nice emotional high, now back to reality." Emotionally you may feel a little better on the outside, however, you are still miserable on the inside. The problem is, that God is an unwilling partner in one-night stands.

We are told in Jeremiah 29:13 "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Emphasis mine). The Lord could not make it any clearer. He is not interested in half-hearted attempts to find Him. He is the God of all creation. He is the very God who breathed life into you and me. And he is the very God we will stand before when we have breathed our last.

Too many people today know of God, but they don't know God. The difference between knowing of God and truly knowing God is approximately eighteen inches, which is the distance between your head and your heart. A lot of people today have heard about God, but they have never met God. If any relationship is to grow, time must be spent nurturing it. If you are married, think about the time you spent courting your spouse. I know, when I began dating my wife, I found it hard to think about anything or anyone else. When we were together, I didn't want her to leave, and, when we were apart, I couldn't wait to be with her again. When we spoke on the phone, neither of us wanted to hang up. (Those were long goodbyes.) I'm sure you can relate. The point is, our relationship didn't just happen, nor did we start out in love. We got to know one another by spending time with one another. This was not some one-night stand; this was a mutual respect and desire to get to know each other on an emotional and spiritual level.

Our relationship with the Lord should be the same. We should desire to spend time with Him. We should find it hard to put down our Bibles (His word), and we should enjoy spending time in prayer telling Him what He means to us and letting Him speak to us. We should take great pleasure in lifting His name in praise and worship.

Our relationship with God is not to be a one-night stand; it is a marriage - not a marriage of convenience but a marriage built on adoration for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is our Bridegroom and we, the Church (the collective believers) are the Bride. To quote an old cliché, it truly is a "match made in heaven".

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE