In Jesus and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

- Ephesians 3:12

As the 2008 Presidential primaries begin, we know that candidates live and die by the donations they can raise for their campaigns.  Without money, campaigns stall.  Possible donors generally will only give money to candidates that they believe have a legitimate shot to win.  That is why Chris Dobbs and Joe Biden were forced to end their campaigns after poor showings in the Iowa primary last week.

Donors give money to candidates that they believe can win for two reasons.  One, they want to be a support for the type of presidency that their particular candidate is promoting.  Second, (and probably more importantly), when significant financial gifts are given to a candidate, the donor is hoping that their gift will allow them access to the candidate should they eventually win.  This is the reason why the very wealthy will often provide financial support to more than one candidate.  That way, whoever wins, they will have a better chance of having access when an issue they care about arises.

For many of us, God can seem distant and far away.  Our lives and the issues we struggle with can seem puny and insignificant next to the problems of the world.  Our prayer life and our spirituality becomes lifeless because we imagine that our small corner of the world can’t possibly matter to the God of all creation.

Here’s the good news reminder today:  Jesus gives us access to God.  The even better news is that we don’t pay for this access, rather Jesus paid for this access on the cross.  When we call upon God, because of what Jesus has done, God treats us like his biggest donor from the campaign trail.  Don’t you imagine that Oprah can get through to Senator Obama anytime she wants?  That’s how we ought to imagine our relationship with God.  And it’s all because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.

Read our verse from Ephesians again:  “In Jesus and through faith in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”  Because of Jesus we are insiders and our lives and our problems matter deeply to the God of the universe.

So today, get on your knees and make a call to the God that you’ve been ignoring for too long.  Trust me, God is waiting to hear from you.