You are born into this world with a guarantee of 2 things … You live and you die.  However, some people will argue with me and say it’s 3 – You live, die and pay taxes – but that’s a whole different story. As you live, you go through a life that is full of choices and consequences from those choices. What does your good choice to bad choice ratio look like? Have you ever really thought about it?The amount of time you have in this world is unknown. Each year, each day, every second you breathe is a blessing that will not last forever. Only God knows the amount of time you have. How are you spending your time? How much time do you spend thanking him for the blessing of life?

     To me, one of the most important choices you can make during your time here, is whether you decide to have a personal relationship with God or not. For those of you who have a relationship with God, how would you describe it? Is it like a father/child, a friendship, a boss/employer relationship? How would you “rate” your relationship on a scale of 1-10? Is it an “as needed” type of a relationship? Is it a daily, weekly, prayerful one? A deep, personal, strong, convenient or a one-sided relationship? If someone asked you to describe your relationship with God … what would your answer be? Would you stumble for convincing words? Would the words ease out with confidence?

     In a conversation with a friend one time about this very subject, she told me that there was a simple way to “gauge” your relationship with God.  — If God puts something on your heart/mind … if you hear that “still small voice” speak to you, how long does it take you to respond/react? If your response is immediate or as soon as physically possible, then you must have a strong, close relationship. If you eventually get around to responding or reacting, then … it might not be as you thought.

A couple of months ago, I was driving down the road and out of nowhere an old friend named Jim entered my thoughts. I had not thought of Jim in years since he had moved away … (God speaks to me like that often). The sad part is that I did not take the time at that moment, in my car, to lift him up in prayer or try to contact him … NOTHING. It was as if I ignored that still small voice. A few weeks ago, I received an email from Jim. He was reaching out to several friends to reconnect – to just say how much we had meant to him. Through several emails that day, I learned that he had been battling a small dose of cancer. MY HEART DROPPED … I cried to God and apologized to Jim for not praying for him and contacting him that very day in my car. When God spoke to me that day, I did not respond/react.

It made me remember that quick simple way that friend had mentioned so many years ago about the way to “gauge” your relationship. It made me wonder how close my relationship with God really is. How close are you?

Now, I know there are a lot of ways you can gauge how close you feel you are to God. You can base your decision on how he is working in your life or how often you reach out to others. You may go deeper and count how many times you have shared Christ with someone or how often you read His word. You may base it on your prayer life or how often you hear his voice.

My challenge to you is to find a way that can help you determine how close you are to Him. Hold yourself accountable. Make a list of ways you can draw nearer to God.

So, if anyone ever asks you … How close are you?  

You can respond with ease and confidence.