I don’t often pay attention to bumper stickers. If I tried to read every bumper sticker my insurance premiums would shoot through the roof because I would be getting into a lot of wrecks. But the other day it was unavoidable. I was stuck in the congestion of after-work traffic, behind van that looked something like the Mystery Machine in Scooby Doo. It was covered with bumper stickers—I mean covered. One of them really caught my eye:

Jesus called. He wants his religion back.

The bumper sticker seemed to be saying the religious world has lost its way and Jesus is calling our number, saying, “Hey, have you forgotten about me?” There’s no doubt that society is filled with “cultural Christians”—men and women who have adopted the Christian religion and maybe even attend a church, but don’t have a walking, talking relationship with Christ. That is, they have never come to a place where they have seen their personal need for Jesus and made the decision to surrender their hearts and lives to Him—for keeps.

As a young Christian, I knew Jesus fit into the picture somewhere, I just wasn’t sure where. I tried hard to keep God’s commandments, hoping the more perfectly I kept them the more God would love me. I was very much into the Christian lifestyle, but somewhere along the line I had failed to rely on Christ. It was around that time I took another look at a familiar scripture. Jesus says in John 14:15,

“If you love me, keep my commandments.”

And then it came to me. How could I have missed it? The great truth lay right before my eyes: keeping the commandments comes as a direct result of a loving relationship with Christ. I was putting the cart before the horse—trying to earn God’s love, when it’s really God’s great, undying love that motivates and enables me to follow Him. It is this dynamic relationship with Jesus that gives me the desire and the power to live for Him.

Paul told the Corinthians, “I was determined to know nothing while I was among you except for Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). The ultimate goal of his ministry was “to know Him and experience the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). Paul tells us, “Christ is your life.” Notice he doesn’t say that Jesus is just sort of added to your life…He is your life!

This week, remember it’s your relationship with Jesus Christ that defines who you are and gives meaning to everything you do.

“But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7).

-Billy-