hand in HAND; or With Whom Do You Walk?
September 26, 2006I have noticed something. When a person loves another, they will frequently go out of their way to spend time (“love on”) that other person. They will schedule around that person, they will cancel plans, they will do almost anything to be able to see that significant other every once in a while. Why is that? The obvious answer is because they love that person. If you love someone, you will attempt to be with that person and “love on” that person as often as you can.
My question is, why do we as Christians (which can be defined as lovers of Jesus) struggle with spending time with God? Why is it that we will rearrange our personal lives to be able to go on a walk or eat dinner with our mortal lover but we find it hard to go to chapel or wake up for church? Why is it that we have to work extra hard to be sure we are “loving on” God, but when it comes to “loving on” our significant other, no questions asked…we are there!?
Maybe I’m being cynical. Maybe I’m being pessimistic. But in all honesty, I struggle with spending time with God. I struggle with “loving on” God, which brings me to my next question: “Do I really love Him?” (AGH! What a terrible thing to admit.) Seriously, why am I struggling with this? John writes in His first epistle that “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God…” I don’t know what else to say to that. I had a whole dialogue I wanted to share, but I just can’t get it out.
On a totally different note, I heard from my brother (best friend) today. I miss him so. I wish we were as close to each other as we were back in high school. I don’t know if I really wanted to hear from him because now I consciously miss him. Sadness…
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God!” Maybe, just maybe, once I start living that verse, my shadow dance will be a bravura performance.
Christians past, present and future have struggled with this. I do.
The thing is that if you are able to write that and if anyone is able to confess that they struggle to spend time with God, it shows that they have the desire to spend the time with Him. I am at this place too. I have the desire, so deep that it is a yearning. So much that just the time that we have to praise Him in chapel can bring me close to tears and sometimes all the way. I hear about God all the time. 12 of my credit hours envelop Him in the topic. These just teach me about Him though and I/we need time to just be with Him. He is “loving on” us all the time. I desire to share my love back with Him.
I know that we “love on” eachother and we are in a strong and beautiful friendship. We use tough love, compassionate love, any type that the other might need. I think it is time we loved on eachother by taking a concern in eachother’s time for loving on God. The sad thing is that we cannot make up for the time when we were not fully loving on Him like He loves on us, but we can help eachother to love on Him with all our hearts and at the same time keep the desire there.