Conversation on the Road...

A week or two ago my wife and I went to a NU vs. MN volleyball game in Lincoln, and we had an interesting conversation on the road.  I suppose there were many interesting parts to our conversation, but I'll spare you the details about our children and various other discussions spouses with children have when they are alone!  The conversation that stuck in my mind was the one we had about heaven, blessings, church attendance, and our relationship with God.  That's right...when we travel we don't travel light!
What got the conversation rolling was my out loud thought..."what do you suppose happens to people who basically ignore God all their lives and then stand before God after this life?"  My wife, in her infinite wisdom says, "I dunno."  Well of course I don't know either, but my puzzeler was thinking about what did people expect from God if they basically ignored him all their lives and then they die.  Did they expect a full pardon?  Did the expect to go to hell?  Did they even consider or worry about any of those consequences?  As Tracy and I talked a lot of ideas flowed forth and I think I was enlightened.  Or was the enlightening about me picking up my socks...well I digress.
I guess I was wondering what the benefits were of a relationship with God beyond our traditional thoughts of saving us from hell.  Honestly, I got out of the business of deciding who was going to heaven and who was not.  Besides, if that is your sole reason for believing in God then I think you're missing a big part of what God has in store for you.  Only God knows a person's heart, and only God gets to decided who's in or out so I'm not concerned with that discussion.  What Tracy and I talked about was what people are missing on earth by neglecting their relationship with God.
As we talked I articulated my belief that a solid relationship with God leads us to more and more blessings on earth.  I'm not talking the prosperity Gospel here...more faith does not equal more money.  Also, more faith and a solid relationship with God doesn't mean no suffering; Job tells us otherwise.  But, I do believe that if we grow our relationship with God then we will experience a better life here on earth.  Our relationships with family and friends will be better, our outlook on life will be better, and when the tough times come we will have a better footing to stand on and help us through them.  I do believe God wants to bless us with a great number of things and we miss a lot of them because we neglect our relationship with the Spirit.  We don't attend church to nurture our faith and connect with like minded people who are on a similar journey.  We don't take the time to pray and spend time in God's word to allow ourselves to connect with the Spirit.  We think we are so busy with just living life that we miss maybe the most important aspect of our lives and that's our relationship with God. 
Obviously I believe in the value of going to church, spending time in the Scriptures, and carving out time for devotions and prayer.  I've seen the blessings that come from that.  Unfortunately I've also struggled at times with those 3 things and I've seen how life isn't as good.  I want so much for people to see and experience what God has to offer them...God is always there waiting and hoping and knocking on our hearts...the question is can we find the time to let the Spirit in?  I hope so.