You shall have no other gods before Me… Exodus 20:3 NKJV
As I pondered writing about relating to God, my mind drifted to imagery and memories from the days of my youth and adolescence. The timeframe and experiences I envisaged were about past Easter holidays. For the sake of time, I’ll not address the pagan origins of Easter, except to say that it is an unsanctioned by God, Gentile replacement for Passover (Pesach in Hebrew & Pascha in Greek).
I had flashbacks of dyeing eggs and participating in Easter egg hunts. I envisioned chocolate bunnies. (One might ask: What do colorful eggs and bunnies have to do with Passover or the resurrection of the Messiah?) But mostly, I thought of the 1956 movie The Ten Commandments, which has traditionally aired during the holiday weekend.
Ignoring the biblical inaccuracies, which include how Hebrews really look as compared to the chosen actors, the movie’s special effects utterly fascinated me. Although those cinematic tricks appear ancient and pedestrian in contrast to today’s technology, the visual depictions of the Most High emancipating His people were stunning.
After the children of Israel exited Egypt and crossed the Red Sea (“yam suph” in Hebrew meaning “sea of reeds”, interestingly enough), the Bible records that the two Tablets of Testimony were literally written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18). The scene in the movie that enacts this passage is epic. The way director Cecil B. DeMille visually interpreted the Almighty God writing the ten commandments was striking. But the artistic rendering pales in juxtaposition to what the Most High wrote. He first emphasized that He was the deliverer of the Hebrew people and that they were not to have any other Gods before Him!
The Living God decreed that in order to harmoniously relate to Him, He must be unconditionally prioritized.
That being said, my observation and interaction with believers over decades has revealed to me that, in large part, relating directly to God as our Ruler and Father has been subtly replaced by indirectly relating to a conception of God by means of attention to religious rites and works.
The word “God” may be accurately defined in either of the following ways; 1) the Supreme Being and Creator, who is perfect in character, wisdom, and power, who rules the entirety of creation…. or 2) any person or thing treated with veneration, i.e. an idol.
The God described in the Holy Scriptures is more than a distant deity Who is only attainable through a religious, moral organizational setting. He is love and desires a close relationship with creatures He’s made in His own image. (1 John 4:8b)
The title of this blog, Relating to God, is the first of the “governing arrangements” of Divine Order. Take a look at the definition below.
Divine Order, which the Most High reveals through the Holy Scriptures, is the governing arrangement of humans in relation to God, each other, the natural realm, and the supernatural according to matters of sequence, original pattern, and prescribed methodology.
We need to be crystal clear on the differences between directly relating to God instead of participating in institutionalized ritual and deceiving ourselves in the process. Day to day relationship is the goal. Communion with the Living God is infinitely more than partaking bread and wine (or grape juice). Relating to God enables you to “be” the Church rather than just go to it. Reciprocal fellowship with the Most High converts the theory of religion into lifestyle, which gives direction and meaning to life.
Over the next couple blog posts, we will use the Scriptures to define how one should relate to God so that you can take full advantage of the benefits of orderliness. If one relates to God instead of religious systems, the experience of being loaded with benefits daily becomes reality instead of prose (Psalms 68:19). Stay tuned…
Grace and Peace to you!
Elder Theodore Nkenge
