Jesus is always Jesus, but He relates to each one of us uniquely. Each of us has an individual perspective/perception of Him. I must not try to have the same relationship with Jesus that you do, even though it is with the same Lord, savior, brother, and friend.

Years ago, I was in Orlando staying with Steve and Anna…”behind every great man is an even greater woman!” Steve married “way up!” If you haven’t met Anna, you need to. Anyway, I asked Steve if I could go to the office with him the next morning and just be with him, watch him, get a feel for his time with the Lord. The kind, compassionate, gentle friend said with such mercy, “NO, you can’t go with me. I don’t share that time with anyone!” You always love a friend even when they tick you off, so I was gracious, forgave him, and left town…not because I was mad, but because it was time to go home. Now that I’m a lot older and a little wiser, Steve (as much as I hate to admit it publicly) was right.
 
Let me illustrate. Let’s say we all have a friend named “Bill”. Bill is always the same guy. when we all get together we make sure Bill is included, because we all like him, and he likes all of us. He just kind of completes the party. But, each one of us has a unique relationship with the same guy. For me, he’s just plain funny, and likes me even when I tell bad jokes. For you, he’s just plain Bill, what you see is what you get, and he accepts you just the way you are. For another, Bill is a “secret” mentor. That person watches Bill’s life and learns from him. Yet Bill is not a “life coach”, he’s just a friend whose walk speaks louder and clearer than  his talk, and he says he likes to be around me too! That feels good.
 
Jesus…we know about him. We passed our licensure and ordination exams or are preparing for them, so we know all that the Bible says about Him. We know what Calvin said about Him, what the Westminster Divines said, what our denomination tells us about Him, how our “circle” of friends or Book of Church Order tell us to worship him. While that information is helpful, it can be a prison that walls out the person of Jesus. We try to have times of quiet like everyone or someone else does. We hope to have a relationship with Jesus just like they do. Guess what, that’s not what He wants. It would be like everyone telling you about “Bill” but never getting to meet him…to never sit down with him yourself and have a cup of coffee with him. Your heart doesn’t relate to information fully, it must relate to another heart.
 
I was amazed when I realized Jesus wanted me to be me and not someone else. I was amazed that I am the only Lea Clower and you are the only ______(your name) that God has ever made in the history of mankind and He wants me/you…loves me/you…wants to spend time with me/you, and have a unique relationship with me/you. He is the same, but we are all different, and therefore He relates to each of us differently/individually.
 
Steve, is a praying man, and has a wonderful relationship with the Lord, but I don’t want his relationship with the Lord anymore, I want mine. Beware of “following the crowd” into the prayer closet. It gets so crowded with methods and mantras that Jesus gets crowded out. Go into the closet alone. Alone with Jesus. You’ll be amazed at how much He enjoys spending time with you…just you.

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