I’m doing something I never thought I’d do–watching the Raiders, and rooting for them to win. It’s a little uncomfortable. I’ve never been a Raider-hater; more like a Raider-ambivalent. But I feel a connection with the Raider Nation. I’ve got a friend wearing the Black and Silver. That got me to thinking about the power of relationship.
Relationship changes everything.
When there is relationship, loyalties are created. Barriers are challenged and broken. Past offenses are overlooked, and grace is extended. Hope springs up, and there is a shift in perspective.
Relationship makes me rethink myself, even where the RRRRRRRaiders are concerned.
It’s our relationship with God that makes a difference in our lives as well. For all the ages, we’ve been trying to figure out how to be restored to a right relationship with God. Different religions have formed around the idea of connecting with God. So many of them center around obeying a certain set of rules, working for forgiveness and restoration. But the key is found in relationship.
The Bible teaches that we love–we have a relationship with–God because he loved us first. While we were still separated from God by our sins, living with a broken, estranged relationship, God sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (read all about it here)
God loves us. Period. There’s nothing we can do to earn that love, nor is there anything we can do to make him not love us. He has declared, once and for all time, that he loves us.
The question that we all must answer, then, is how will we respond to his love?
My answer: I’m going to love him back.
Relationship changes everything, from the absolutely serious, to the not-so-critical, like who you root for on Monday night. Now I have to figure out if I should buy a Raiders jersey…
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