Request: When you say you have a personal relationship with Jesus, what do you mean? I guess I find it hard to understand how someone can have a personal relationship with Jesus when he died, and then if he rose again went into the sky? I can't think of anything less personal, let alone relational.
When you talk to a family member a friend or someone close to you, you initiate a personal communication with that person. You are in a relationship of some value whether it is deep, intimate or close or merely friends. Regardless there is a relationship. When Jesus died he rose again and when he ascended into the sky he ascended into heaven. He bade His followers good-by, ascended visibly into heaven and disappeared from their sight. He didn’t leave us but merely rose to the heavens in the flesh.
If you believe in God, which you must in some essence judging by your question, a personal relationship with Jesus is like one between two people. He loves us all unconditionally but expresses this love in different ways to our own understanding. Each person’s experience is different with him. Like any relationship we need to get closer with him. How you ask? We meditate, which means to learn, read and read over his word (The Bible), it means to speak to him in prayer as you would speak to anyone else. We get to know him through a daily interaction. This may not be warm and cuddly and of course you can become angry, you may sin, you may forget to pray but regardless, he has died for our sins and is capable of infinite love, mercy and justice and this is forever unchanging.
In order to fully understand this, one must simply get to know him and grow daily and experience him. Every day is a new day like all days, we can experience life in a different way and we can interact with others to learn, grow and simply live life. We can do this with our Lord and Saviour. I pray, I talk to him, I vent, I read my bible, I ponder, meditate and try to understand the bible… he answers, he comforts me, he gives me peace, he calms me, he helps me, he loves me, he helps me understand, he gives me clarity, he reveals to me what the word means, what I am to be doing, what I should be doing and challenges me daily. If you believe in God/Jesus than you can know him more and you can also experience his love.
To summarise this and provide a scriptural understanding (external source):
What many people do not know, realize, or care about, is that Jesus gave us the most amazing gift—the opportunity to spend eternity with God if we trust in Him. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ to take on our sin, be killed, and then be raised to life again, proving His victory over sin and death. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). If we accept this gift, we have become acceptable to God and can have a relationship with Him.
Having a personal relationship with God means we should include God in our daily lives. We should pray to Him, read His word, and meditate on verses in an effort to get to know Him better. We should pray for wisdom (James 1:5), which is the most valuable asset we could ever have. We should take our requests to Him, asking in Jesus' name (John 15:16). Jesus is the one who loves us enough to give His life for us (Romans 5:8), and He is the one who bridged the gap between us and God.
The Holy Spirit has been given to us as our Counselor. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17). Jesus said this before He died, and after He died, the Holy Spirit became available to all who earnestly seek to receive Him. He is the one who lives in the hearts of believers and never leaves. He counsels us, teaches us truths, and changes our hearts. Without this divine Holy Spirit, we would not have the ability to fight against evil and temptations. But since we do have Him, we begin to produce the fruit that comes from allowing the Spirit to control us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
This personal relationship with God is not as hard to find as we might think, and there is no mysterious formula for getting it. As soon as we become children of God, we receive the Holy Spirit, who will begin to work on our hearts. We should pray without ceasing, read the Bible, and join a Bible-believing church; all these things will help us to grow spiritually. Trusting in God to get us through each day and believing that He is our sustainer is the way to have a relationship with Him. Although we may not see changes immediately, we will begin to see them over time, and all the truths will become clear.
If you have further questions, concerns or comments please feel free to leave a reply or contact me directly below. I know all this can be a little confronting, overwhelming and confusing at start, but I have known him as my lord and Saviour for 16 years and I can honestly and humbly say that without him (God/Jesus) I would not be where I am today.
Email me at:
technically.sentimental.blog@gmail.com
