Why call it a relationship?

[AudioArtist]

Hello,

As I respect you people and opinions on matters from your angle....why do people call the faith of Christianity a "relationship" with Jesus?

I have had my fair share of strange experiences from both the dark side and the sie of God (I never dabbled in the occult, I merely happened to see an evil apparition.) The experiences I have had with God have been wonderful and also convicting.

However, most of the time in spent in blind faith. Where is this relationship? What is it exactly?

Thanks.

[Photios]

A relationship is how you relate and interact with another. Certainly, a relationship with God is not like any other that can be imagined, but it is there. Maybe I will have more later, but this is all I can think of on the spur of the moment.

[gzt]

Well, God relates with us and we relate with God, most particularly within the life of the Church. Indeed, in baptism we die with Christ and are washed with the laver of regeneration, in chrismation we are given the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, in the Eucharist we offer God our lives and the gifts of bread and wine and Christ gives us in return His own Body and Blood. It's pretty personal, man. We must see our neighbors as icons of Christ and in loving them, love Christ. But when we sin against them, we sin against Christ. Our sins not only separate us from God, they separate us from His Church, the Body of Christ, so we must confess our sins and be reconciled to Christ and His Church. There's more, but that's what comes up off the top of my head.

[Akathist]

God is my Creator. He is closer to me then a parent. I believe that all people were created specifically to be in relationship with the Trinity.

You ask where is this relationship? That is an interesting question. Where is your relationship with your mother and father? The only way to observe this relationship is to see:
1. How I interact directly with my mother.
2. How I speak about my relationship with other people.
3. How I allow her to influence me.

This is exactly the manner in which our relationship with God is seen.
1. In my prayer life with God.
2. In how I speak about God with others.
3. In how my relationship with God influences how I live my life on a moment by moment basis.

I'm not sure this is the answer to your question however.

[AudioArtist]

I do constantly think of God, and my moral actions and awareness of "self" is all connected with my faith constantly.

But I am wondering...will this relationship ever be more tangible? Most of the things people say they relate to God through could exist indenpently from Him, if you get me.

It's confusing.

[Matrona]

I do constantly think of God, and my moral actions and awareness of "self" is all connected with my faith constantly.

But I am wondering...will this relationship ever be more tangible? Most of the things people say they relate to God through could exist indenpently from Him, if you get me.

It's confusing.
I can't really say much to help you... all I can say is that I asked this question a lot as a Campus Crusade member, and never got an answer. After becoming Orthodox I feel like I have one. Pray regularly and listen to your conscience. You should also consider attending Orthodox Divine Liturgy.

[Akathist]

I suggest that you seek out a Priest for direct and personal spiritual direction. It can be dangerous to seek some kind of tangable experience...... satan may fool you!

[Dust and Ashes]

I do constantly think of God, and my moral actions and awareness of "self" is all connected with my faith constantly.

But I am wondering...will this relationship ever be more tangible? Most of the things people say they relate to God through could exist indenpently from Him, if you get me.

It's confusing.

In my experience, I didn't really start to have a true relationship with God until I became Orthodox and began to understand sacramental living. We interact with God through the sacraments and I don't just mean a set, limited number of them but rather everything that we do can be sacramental just as everthing we do can be done selfishly and for it's own value.

One quote that really speaks to me is:

"When we see the world as an end in itself, everything becomes itself a value and consequently loses all value, because only in God is found the meaning (value) of everything, and the world is meaningful only when it is the "sacrament" of God's presence. Things treated merely as things in themselves destroy themselves because only in God have they any life."
Father Alexander Schmemann - For the Life of the World (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0913836087/qid=1116452998/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-8539859-5923039?v=glance&s=books)

Everything that we do can be communion with God. Everything that happens to us can be communion with God. Man is created in the image of God, so every human being is an icon of God. So, how we treat others is how we are treating God. "Love thy neighbor..."

I highly recommend the book; Fr. Schmemann says it all much better than I ever could and he often says it so well that the clarity, beauty and simplicity of it leaves me weeping. Peace!

Forgive me,

[Maximus]

Sometimes we Orthodox avoid the term "relationship" when speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ because the term "personal relationship" is used so often by Evangelical Protestants. Using it implies that one accepts all the Evangelical baggage that comes with it.

Just the same, relationship is a good word, and the term personal relationship does describe part of how we know the Savior.

I love Jesus. I let Him down all the time; I let myself down all the time.

But the personal relationship I have with the Lord is all that I really have.

There's no life without it, and I mean that in more than the usual sense expressed as a platitude.

[Dust and Ashes]

But the personal relationship I have with the Lord is all that I really have.

There's no life without it, and I mean that in more than the usual sense expressed as a platitude.

Amen, brother. Amen... :crosseo:

[Marjorie]

A more tangible relationship with God is found in the Church, through the Holy Mysteries, where we literally ascend into the Kingdom of God and touch, taste, handle the Lord Jesus Christ, and are transformed by him. FS's post is more detailed and better haha but it all really boils down to this. If you are searching for something more than just rationally believing in Christ or feeling a vague sense of affection towards him, then, well, that's the Mysteries. I'm sorry if I am sounding anti-ecumenical here but the Church has always had as its lifeblood (quite literally) the Eucharist and without it a relationship with God is quite strained. How we directly relate to Christ is in the Sacred Gifts.

In IC XC,
Marjorie

[_Petros_]

Their is the Holy fire that burns but does not burn the body, if you mean that. Or perhaps you are looking for light to shine through your window at night and a bird to fly in and give you the 411. Or to be historical, try and make a certain "man" turn water to wine or perform miracles to prove He is the son of God. Blessed is he who believes and has not seen. Despite the fact I hardly act as a Christian, beneath all the millions of layers of sin, filth and evil is a small, only spec size glimmer of faith. This faith is truth and is manifested by my actions and my intent. I have witnessed tangible miracles, whether it be giving love to a wretched and stinking bum off the corner or making self sacrifices to help others and they know nothing of the actions taken for humility sake. These are not natural human impulses for me, these are sparks of the Holy spirit trying despearelty at every moment to bring me...us closer to God. It is by our love Christ is manifested, not our eyes.