(Luke 8:8)
If we want to have great relationships, we have to treat the other person with respect. It’s the same for spouses, close friends, or parents and children. Closeness and trust can thrive only when people are thoughtful, kind, honest, and loving.
This is also true when it comes to our relationship with God. The way we respond to Him has an influence on how close we get. We can ignore Him, choose not to respect Him, and live our lives heading away from Him, then He’ll seem a million miles away. (By the way, the irony is that even then He is close at hand, but our hearts will often ache and feel alone). But if we look for Him with honesty, humility, and respect, then everything can change. Our lives will thrive in ways we may never anticipate
“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
(Luke 8:8)
There’s a beautiful paradox at the heart of this life of faith and love. We are not His equal, yet God involves us in His plans, as precious sons and daughters. He could do it all on His own, but He chooses to involve us, to invite us closer to Him. He gives us total freedom, yet He remains in perfect control. All of us have things that are wrong in our lives, but if we are willing to say a tentative “yes” to God, He works with us, right where we are. Our hearts become fertile soil, and He uses us and blesses us.
Be at peace with God,
Pastor John