You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. –Jeremiah 29:13
I recently read an article written by a counselor; the article was based on one of his patient’s stories. A lady once called him and said, “I need something to bring back the spark in my marriage. I feel like our marriage has become stale.” That statement really got to me because it reminded me of a similar statement I made about my relationship with God.
A new relationship with God, like a dating relationship is filled with a lot of excitement, long conversations, expressions of deep feelings, butterflies in the stomach, incessant thoughts about each other, etc. But as time goes by, most of those things slowly fizzle and we begin to lapse into mediocrity and replace the fun and excitement with mundane monotonous activities of everyday life. It is as if we become so familiar with each other that we begin to take the relationship for granted. Does this sound familiar?
Consider your relationship with the Lord today; if I asked you to tell me about it, how would you describe it? If I asked the Lord, would He say the same? I believe this conversation happened in Revelations 2:3-7 when the Lord gave His take on the relationship He shared with the Church in Ephesus. Judging from the type of letter that Paul wrote to them, the book of Ephesians, it is quite evident that they were a mature Church. In Revelations 2, we read that they worked hard and persevered. They did not tolerate wicked men and tested those who claimed to be apostles but were not. They persevered and endured hardship for the name of the Lord and did not grow weary. However, the Lord held one thing against them. They had forsaken their first love.
The Church of Ephesus probably had a deep love for the Lord and each other when Paul first introduced Jesus to them, but somewhere down the line, that love seemed to turn into duty, and perhaps unbeknownst to them, the relationship turned into sort of a service agreement rather than a thriving relationship. This was not okay with the Lord, and He encouraged them in Rev 2:5, “Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”
As the counselor advised the couple with the stale marriage in the article I read, I challenge you to begin to date Jesus again. If your relationship has grown stale, I challenge you to remember how they were and perhaps do the things you did at first. Take long walks with Him, write Him letters, tell Him about your day, let Him be the first person you run to when something exciting or terrible happens, steal away to be with Him, celebrate your love for Him, tell and show Him how much He means to you, sing to Him, talk about Him, etc.
The Lord always described His relationship with us as that of a bride and a Bridegroom, and I often wondered why He chose that as opposed to a wife and a husband. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that unlike many husband and wife relationships, bride and bridegrooms are usually still completely enamored by each other and their relationship is filled with lots of youthful excitement, fizzle, blooming love, etc. How is your relationship with the Lord?
Grace and peace be with you.
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THE STALE MARRIAGE