If by personal, you mean private, or personalized… then the last thing you need is a perso
nal relationship with Jesus. Sure, I think we should have a faith that is personal:
- Inasmuch as God is a person. Thinking about a personal relationship with Jesus helps us to get past the idea that God is some kind of force out there in the universe. Though, I can see how a quick glance at the Bible could leave you with the idea that God was that way. The creation account, for example, might cause you to think that God is as formless as the earth was. Genesis 1:2 says, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” I guess that doesn’t’ sound very personal… and yet, a few lines later, when God went about creating people, verse 26 says he created us in his image and likeness. And what continues from there is a God who speaks, listens, grieves, and enters into our world to engage us as we are—as a personal God.
- As opposed to a faith that is impersonal. Though it’s been around for as long as we all can remember, the phrase “a personal relationship with Jesus,” is relatively recent as far as theological concepts go. David Murrow presents a pretty good history of the phrase in which he points out that “Nowhere in the sixty-six books of the canon are the faithful called to enter into a personal relationship with God or Jesus. Admittedly, there are a number of passages where a relationship is implied…” And I would concur, that the vast theological principal that cuts along the whole of Scripture is that God wants to relate to us personally: as brothers, spouses, children, and friends.
- As it is intended to be experienced communally. So, maybe we should be pursuing a personable relationship with Jesus instead of a personal one: a relationship that actually involves relating and interacting—with Jesus, of course, but also with Jesus in the context of community. While time alone with my wife is important, my relationship with her is so much more full when it is experienced in the context of our family. Our relationship is informed by, and teaches something to, our children, our parents, and our in-laws.
At my house, we’re heading into a really interesting phase of life. My oldest son is wearing the same size (or slightly larger) shoes as me. It means snow boots are kind of first-come-first-serve at the back door. And something that used to be very personal has become common.
So, in answer to the question, posted a while back on my blog by Kali: Is faith one of those personal things too? And I think the answer is still yes… and no.
Personal faith is not the opposite of public faith.
My boots fit me. I shopped for them, tried them on, and chose them. But all of my kids have tried them on at some time. Sarah, whose feet are half the size of mine, occasionally stomps around in them. And it’s ok.
I don’t hide them, just like my dad didn’t hide his shaving cream when I was a kid. We all need the opportunity to try on things a size too big, stomp around in them, and get a feel for what they’re like.
So when we hide our faith at home, in a prayer closet or quiet time, we take away the same opportunity for others… to try on what works for us, stomp around in it a bit, and ask the question, Does this kind of faith work for me too?
Now, I’m not saying we choose just the faith that works for us… or fits us just right. But I am saying that there are those in our worlds who need the freedom to test a young faith with the sort of free returns policy that our not hiding ours provides.
Personal does not mean personalized.
At the end of the day, we all have our own boots. But a boot is a boot. And though I hate to admit I’ve tried it, it’s not ok to wear socks with sandals.
Personal faith is not a customizable, build-to-suit sort of endeavor. Sure, there are a lot of things you can have faith in, but Christian faith is just that: faith in Jesus Christ. It’s believing that he is who he said he is. It’s being willing to trust him with our life and salvation. And it’s more than just trying it on for size—it is, as Hebrews 11:1 says, being confident of what we hope for and sure of what we do not see.
Truth is common while our experience of it may not be.
All of us have a story—a story of how God broke into our lives, of sickness, of hope, of wandering and wondering… And perhaps the most amazing part of Christian faith is that it’s so much bigger than any one of our stories. The truth about God, communicated by God, does not depend on us.
How do you relate personally to God?
This is an answer to question 5 in the series 14 Questions from Kali about the church, faith and baptism: Are faith and convictions personal, or one-size-fits-all?