It's Relational, Not Behavioral

Two of the commonest questions of faith that I hear: "What does it mean to have a right standing before God?" and "How does someone make it to heaven?"

We expect the answers to address our behavioral performance. We all wonder if we are good enough for God and heaven. Unlike any other spiritual or religious leader, Jesus taught that being right with God, and having the security of eternal life in heaven, was not a result of behavioral performance but rather of relational position.

Jesus used several phrases to describe a right relationship with God: father and child, vine and branch, shepherd and sheep, hen and chicks. These phrases may be difficult for some of us to fully understand without some agricultural or farming experience. And for some, even the reference to father and child may trigger memories of neglect and abuse experienced as a result of family dysfunction. But Jesus said he came to reveal God and clear up our confusion about Him. Ultimately he came to make it possible for anyone and everyone to have a relationship with God without having to go through a religious behavioral system or human mediator that determined who was and was not good enough.

When people wanted to know how to have a right relationship with God and find assurance that they would make it to heaven, Jesus responded by inviting them to follow him. While following him would require action (that is, behavior), "following" was more a relational term describing a life that would be lived together.

We don't tend to spend personal discretionary time with people who do not share our values. We tend to party with people who party the way we do. But Jesus invited people who were nothing like himself to follow him and live life together. He was willing to step into their world at the same time he was inviting them to step into his. Immediately after Jesus called Matthew, a professional sinner who made a living defrauding people, Jesus attended a party at Matthew's house, mingling with people just like Matthew and nothing like himself (Matthew 9:9-13). It is obvious that Jesus liked and spent time with people who were nothing like himself, and they liked him too.

Some people believe they are too bad to attend church, or to expect anything good from God. Tragically, many have gotten that impression from religious people claiming to speak for God. The Scriptures record how the misguided religious leaders were standing outside Matthew's house that day, holding their signs and hurling their judgments the same way some still do today (okay, they may not have had signs.but you get the point). The truth is, if you don't like Jesus, you simply do not know him. If you think Jesus doesn't like you, you simply do not know him. And if you think Jesus doesn't like "sinners," you simply do not know him. You might know about him.but you don't know him.

Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick," giving us yet another relational illustration: doctor and patient. Jesus comes to those who know deep down that something in their life is wrong, something they cannot fix themselves that keeps them relationally distant from God. The best doctors do not treat patients from a distance, but up close. Jesus' interaction with Matthew reveals that relational position is not dependent on behavioral performance. Jesus reminds us that God's priority is given to those in need of rescue, over those doing everything right (Matthew 9:13).

So salvation is a relational matter, not a behavioral one. If heaven were the reward for behavioral performance, then it would stand to reason that all the good people would gain entrance?with only one question remaining: How good is good enough? But heaven is NOT the eternal reward for behavioral performance, but rather eternal existence based on relational position. The next life is not a reward for the good you did in this life, but rather an eternity spent with the one you followed in this life. It's not just about being good; it is about being relational: connected, engaged.known.

To know God, follow Jesus.