It’s a word that Apple used first and other tech companies started picking up on. Watch any of the past Microsoft events, or Google’s IO conference and count how many times you hear the word “re-imagine” or any of its variants. Apple “re-imagined” the phone and then every other product category they entered, Microsoft “reimagined” the tablet, then Windows itself and Google has re-imagined the Android OS, intelligent devices and autonomous cars. I’m uncertain as to their correct usage of the term, but it leads me to ask a question of my own: What if we re-imagined our relationship with God?

A co-worker of mine is reading the Bible to his kids at bedtime. Recently he read to them the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. If you are not familiar with the story read it here. At the end of the contest Elijah instructed the people to round up all 450 prophets of Baal and to let even a one escape, and he executed them. His children were, of course, deeply concerned that God would command such a thing. My friend explained to them about the nature of God, his jealousy toward his chosen people and his seriousness about the first of the Ten Commandments. It enlarged their view of God and their response to him.

We all have such experiences, for some of us it was long ago as we grew up into a relationship with our creator, for others it was later in life but the end result was the same: our understanding of God changed and we were inspired to learn more about who God is. The important question is, how long has it been since you’ve had such an experience? God is always on the move, interacting with humanity in various times and places. Unfortunately we become too complacent to keep following God through his creative endeavors and prefer to sit down, content with our knowledge and experience. Then we wonder why God starts to feel distant and why there are no longer any adventures to be had. If this describes you, it’s time to re-invent your relationship.

Retract the recliner and get up, following God requires action. Next, realize that there is so much more in the Bible than you know. You may have read through the Bible in a year at some point in your life, good for you, now its time to read it again. This time, ask questions of every story you read. Ask what it teaches us about God, and how we are supposed to respond. You will find out all kinds of things about Elohim that you never knew, discover stories you will swear you never read, and be challenged in your understanding of the King of Kings.

Next, pray but not in a formal fashion. Next time you call your best friend, or your parents, or significant other to catch up or tell them about your day, do the same with God. Once you’ve hung up the phone, stop and pray. Tell God the things you mentioned when on the phone. Tell him about your struggles with your boss, the funny thing that happened at lunch, the new purchase you made that excites you and all the rest of it. God is not above the everyday. The more we talk to him, the more his Spirit will work in us and the more we will understand him.

This is only the beginning, however. I guarantee that by doing these two things your relationship with God will come alive, which will lead you to share your experiences with others. It may start with those in your mid-week Bible study group or Sunday school class, but it will spill over into your other relationships as well including with those who do not know God. From here you will come to understand that God is not distant nor is he hiding from us; he is in fact omnipresent and we can join in his adventures from any place we find ourselves.