MattKlausmeier.com

Daily Christian Encouragement

It's All About The Relationship

November 10, 2026

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them..."

(Rev 21:3 NASB)

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name...

(John 1:12 NASB)

Why did God save you? Many of us came to faith because we were told stories about heaven and hell, and hell sounded like a place we didn't want to end up. And while God doesn't want anyone to end up there (2 Pet 3:9), He had much better plans on His mind than just upgrading your eternal destination.

Our verses today are just two examples of what God was really after when He saved us: relationship. Back in the garden of Eden, God had an unbroken relationship with Adam, and they lived together like father and son. But Adam's fall destroyed that relationship for himself and all his offspring, all of us. God's purpose for the cross was not to give a bunch of fallen, disobedient children a nice place to live after we die; it was to restore to us the key component of what we were made for: unbroken relationship with our creator and heavenly Father.

That relationship is what we were made for, and it's what we're ultimately seeking, even though we foolishly mistake God's earthly gifts as the final joy. All of the pleasures of this life are just moonlight: a poor reflection of the thing we're actually hungering for. And while King Solomon is the best example, ask anyone who has gotten unlimited access to that earthly delight which they think will finally satisfy them, and they will describe how those things eventually let them down: winning the lottery, retirement, vacations, relationships, hobbies... all of those things are good only in their reflection of God's goodness. They can point us towards Him, but they aren't the thing we were made for, and their goodness will leave us hungry and searching for the real deal.

If you think your faith is just a matter of where you'll end up, or if you're still chasing down worldly pleasures to satisfy your inward longings, I encourage you to adopt this new attitude of letting God Himself be the source of your ultimate joy, and to look forward to your face-to-face relationship with Him in heaven. That will be, after all, the only reason heaven is good!

Consider: