Do You Have an Emotional, Intellectual, or Willful Relationship With Jesus?

What type of relationship do you have with Jesus? What type do you want to have? There are three elements one should involve in developing a covenant bond with Jesus: the emotions, the intellect, and the will. Typically, we begin with emotions, move to the intellect and finish with the will. Take a young man becoming attracted to a young woman for example. His emotions could get him into trouble if they were acted upon alone. Rushing into a relationship solely based upon emotion is a train wreck waiting to happen! The intellect should slow down the emotional response causing him to question things such as whether they are compatible, or if he is financially able to support a dating relationship, or what they will do if this should move on to something deeper. This is where some of the time element that goes into dating comes into play, so the two can get to know each other well enough to make both an emotional and intellectual decision about where their relationship should go.

However, there is a third element that must also be considered—the will! The will goes beyond the feelings of emotion and the rationale of the intellect to the very heart of commitment. The will is what one uses to decide about changes in lifestyle and the cost they are willing to pay in order to follow through on one’s decision. The will is the part that will hang in there when the emotions are not quite feeling it and the intellect is in doubt. The will is the glue that holds these other transitory elements together.

The text for the sermon this morning (Luke 4:14-5:11) includes three challenging stories. In the first one (4:16-30), Jesus is in His hometown and goes to the synagogue to proclaim God’s year of Jubilee. However, because the townspeople can only see Him as Joseph’s son (V. 22) instead of God’s Son (as has been emphasized consistently throughout our study of Luke), they wind up seeking to kill Him by the time He finishes teaching them (V. 28-29). This is a story of emotion! The townspeople who watched Jesus grow up are excited about His message of Jubilee, however, once He begins challenging their intellect and will, they let their emotions drive them to seek to destroy Him.

This is followed by a story of intellect (Luke 4:31-43)—the healing of the demon possessed man in the synagogue! In this account, the people let their emotions cause them to marvel at the authority and power in Jesus’ teaching (V. 32, 36) to the point that they search for Him when He withdraws to a lonely place. They then want Him to stay with them so they can learn more (V. 42). These people are searching and hungry to be with Jesus, but we are not told of any of them changing their lifestyle to follow Him!

That is where the third story comes in (Luke 5:1-11)—where Jesus teaches from Simon’s boat and then takes them out fishing. Simon has already encountered Jesus when He healed his mother-in-law (4:38-39). He has heard Him teach and witnessed a miraculous catch of fish. It moves him to confess he is a sinful man (5:8) and to feel unworthy to be with Him, however, when Jesus offers to make him a fisher of men he leaves everything to follow Him (5:10-11). This is a decision of the will to change his lifestyle and take on new commitment, even at great cost!

So, which story best describes your walk with Jesus? Are you in an emotion-level relationship in which you bounce all over the place, based upon the feelings of the day? Or, are you in an intellectual-level relationship in which you are searching to know more so you can figure Him out? You long to be with Him, but not to the point of making commitment or changing lifestyle. What He wants you to reach is a will-level relationship so you will live sold out to Him and pay the price to walk with Him, whatever it takes! He wants your heart in a bond of covenant! Are you willing to surrender this to Him?

-Scott