With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God

by Skye Jethani

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”

But there are moments, unexpected and undeserved, when a coin is dropped and our vision is transformed by a bright burst of light. It may only be a brief glimpse, but in those moments we see the world behind the shadows, we see an entirely different way of relating to God, and we long

for more.

My Christian tradition had taught me that obeying God’s commands and being devoted to his work in the world was the prescription for joy, peace, contentment, and fulfillment, and this is what I had been teaching others.

But after a decade in ministry, the evidence, within and around me, was failing to verify this assumption.

In this scenario religion is a way of understanding and controlling otherwise unpredictable forces, and with a sense of control people feel less afraid.

this LIFE UNDER GOD approach has a number of significant shortcomings. Perhaps the greatest problem is that it only reinforces the rebellion of humanity we first saw in the story of Eden.

The irony of a LIFE UNDER GOD is that we are seeking to exert control over God through strict adherence to rituals and absolute obedience to moral codes. It is Eden’s rebellion all over again. Through our obedience we put God into our debt and expect him to do our bidding in exchange for our worship and righteous behavior.

As much as we might want to control God, history has proven that he is notoriously uncooperative.

LIFE UNDER GOD does not solve our fear problem; it simply makes us afraid of God and not just his creation.

But what LIFE UNDER GOD cannot do is look into a person’s heart. Although one’s behaviors might conform to expectations, inside you may still be consumed by hatred, greed, pride, lust, and deceit.