The Most Important Part of Knowing God isn't Church

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Church is important, but it’s not the most important.

Missions are critical, but they aren’t the most critical.

Bible studies are essential, but they aren’t the most essential.

Good works are imperative, but they aren’t the most imperative.

Sometimes I think we inadvertently boil our Christianity down to a list of things we can check off. Did I attend church this week? Check. Did I do something good for my neighbors? Check. Did I go to Bible Study or small group? Check, check! And all of these things are good. All of these are ways we can honor God, learn more about our faith, and serve others, which are key components to our life of faith.

But I have one question: do you enjoy God?

Do you enjoy your relationship with the Father?

It’s so easy for us to have a knowledge of God without really knowing Him. It’s easy for us to claim the name of Christian without ever fully living into the freedom and abundance Christ offers.

Years ago, not long after my husband had accepted the position of Senior Minister at a church in South Georgia, an older and much wiser couple invited us to dinner one night. After a feast of fried fish, we sat outside talking and laughing as the sun was setting. This was well before we had kids so you can imagine the serene scene—crickets chirping, pink sky fading to lavender, and good company. After a few minutes, my new friend (who is also a minister’s wife) said to me, “Ginger if I can share one thing with you . . . one thing that’s more important than all the rest, it would be this: enjoy God.”

Two words. Two words that in all my years of attending church, I’d never heard. Two words, that in over a decade now, I have yet to forget.

Enjoy God.

That’s what I want, friends. I don’t want to simply know about the Almighty; I want a relationship with Him. I don’t want to simply claim Jesus as Lord; I want to walk with Him. I don’t want my faith to be something I only walk out on Sunday, but on every day of the week . . . the hard days and the easy ones.

I want to enjoy God . . . to enjoy His presence and to seek it daily. To enjoy His word, and to read it—applying its principles in my life. To enjoy talking with Him and listening for His direction and assurances. To enjoy the incredible fact that we have a God who loves us no matter where we’ve been, where we are, or where we will go.

I don’t want to just go to church. I don’t want to “read a verse a day to keep the devil away”. I don’t want to sing hymns with my lips and never feel them in my heart. I don’t want my children seeing me going through the motions of Christianity; I want them to see a mama who LOVES God.

What a shame it would be to live this life knowing God, but never truly enjoying Him.

Enjoy God.

That’s what I want, friends. And that’s what I want for you, as well.

Originally published on No Mama’s Perfect

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Ginger Hughes

Ginger Hughes is the wife of a pastor, a mother to Ella and Elam, and a part-time accountant. She is a Georgia native, but presently calls the foothills of North Carolina home. She loves coffee, nature, and reading, but with two children under six, she struggles to find time in the day for any of the above! She is a Christ follower and a fellow struggler on life’s journey who seeks to find joy in the everyday. Her passion for writing is fueled by the desire to offer encouragement, grace, and a deeper understanding that we are all God’s children, that we are not alone in our brokenness, and that we are all deeply loved. You can read more of her writings at nomamasperfect.com.

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