I don't want Jesus to be my Facebook friend

I just wanted to share something I've been thinking about quite a bit lately.

In my Bible Study with BSF, we are studying the book of John this year. Last week we discussed John 17, which is Jesus' prayer for his disciples and Himself. Often referred to as the High Priestly prayer. As part of the lesson, we were sent to Hebrews to look at Jesus as the ultimate High Priest and we discussed a lot about what it means to truly know Jesus.

Through the study, I began to see how I treat Jesus like a Facebook friend. Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with some long lost friends, but for the most part, it encourages me to observe people's lives effortlessly without being really involved. I can know the latest news about 200 people, see their photos, and have an idea of what is happening in their lives. I can do all of this by just looking at my home page. I end up knowing a lot about these people, but not really knowing them at all. Facebook has given me a false sense of community. I share what I want and only tell the bits of myself and experiences that I want people to know.

I often find myself treating Jesus like a Facebook friend. I know a lot about Jesus. I am even in a Bible Study and read my Bible regularly, but at the end of the day, I'm not always experiencing the relationship with Jesus that I want to be or should be. I am not putting in the effort to allow that relationship to be truly transformational. In order to experience true community (even with the Lord) I have to be honest about what's going on in my life. I will never grow in my relationship with God by only mentally absorbing information about Him. I have to be willing to dig in, be vulnerable and allow myself to be transformed through the reading of His word and the power of the Holy Spirit.

I confess I'm bad at this. It's easier for me to be intellectually informed and satisfied by that but God is calling us to a deeper love in Him - a love for Him and for others enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit.

You can pray that I would learn how to pursue a relationship with Christ that is much more intimate than just being Facebook friends, a relationship that grows over time and work and transforms my life.