Relationship vs Works

Galatians 2:16 ESV Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in

Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by

works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

I know someone, well several someones to be honest, who have sidestepped discussions about having a

personal relationship with Jesus by letting it be known that they are better people than others. “I’m not

perfect but I’m not as bad as that guy.” The good old “better person” way of thinking, also known as works

based, sidesteps getting to know the Lord and learning to hear Him so we are alert and aware of where

He wants us to go and what He wants us to do in His name. Sometimes it’s hard to shake that attitude

loose. Of course if we are going to live as Christians in this world we obey the Ten Commandments and

live out our faith serving God and helping others. However, all the Bible verses, tithing and volunteering in

the world can’t take the place of being in relationship with Him, which is key to receiving His grace and

mercy. We are missing the whole point when we compare ourselves to others and try to justify ourselves.

There’s a movie from the sixties, “Lilies of The Field,” where a man was helping to build a small chapel in

the American southwest. When someone remarked to him that he had always proclaimed himself to be a

non-believer and asked him why he was working on the church, he replied, “This is insurance.” In his

mind he was doing a good deed, just in case there was a heaven. Both he and the better person thinkers

are incorrect. Good works are wonderful and expected as part of Christian living but do not take the place

of having a personal relationship with Jesus; surrendering your will to His, and letting Him shine out

through your faithful works. I recently heard someone put it simply by saying that it is not an outside in

process, rather it is an inside out process. Jesus knocks and we decide whether or not to let Him in. It’s

not Him bouncing off of our good works and landing in our hearts.

From the get-go I was raised in a Christian home, went to church and Sunday school, sang in the choir,

memorized a catechism and got confirmed. No one to my recollection brought up the relationship thing,

until once when I was a young teen my aunt told me I needed to have one with Jesus. I had no idea what

she was talking about and didn’t ask. Thirty years later I attended a Billy Graham crusade and somehow

his telling of the parable of the Prodigal Son, which I already knew, opened my heart, mind and soul to

Jesus, and I let Him in. It changed my life and how I viewed everything. All of what I was raised to do was

nice but was window dressing absent a relationship with Jesus. Now the work continues as I try, with

God’s help, to get this through to the “better person” crowd that I love and want to see ending up in

heaven.

Janet Schultz