KEEPING RELATIONSHIPS VITAL AND REAL
22nd May 2013
In any relationship it’s possible to take people for granted. You become over familiar and often unthankful. You can even lose any sense of excitement and joy at being together. A dullness, lack of value, resulting in lack of expectation, can shroud what have been valued relationships and intimacies.
God is speaking in Revelation 2 to a church who has lost its first love - they were doing all sorts of good things, but their motivation was more from rote than revelation . His corrective word to them was, “Repent and do the things you did at first.”
What did you do when you first met Jesus? What did you feel? I was overwhelmed with gratitude that He would accept me and love me. I wanted to share every detail of my life with Him. I poured out my heart to Him - the good, the bad and the ugly.
I wanted His approval so every action was run past Him and I expected personal instruction. I was excited at His involvement in the smallest details of my life. Praise and thanksgiving were spontaneous. Seeing Him at work gave me plenty to talk about. I was full of expectation as I saw how He helped me, and had faith that every situation could be changed if He was involved.
I read the Bible like a “thriller”, I could not put it down. What I did not understand, I questioned Him about and got answers causing wonder and amazement. Time was no object, I wanted to read, pray and be in His presence.
My question to myself and to you is this - Have I started to take these things for granted? Have I become over familiar? Have I lost the sense of awe wonder and privilege? Am I expectant to see Him in action? Do I lean on Him or myself?
Sometimes it is good to stop and examine what is going on in our human relationships, and even more important our relationship with Jesus. He doesn’t condemn, He says, “Turn around, and go back, and do the things you did at first.”
by Joyce Sibthorpe
