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Walking A Cross
When my wife Joanna and I first got to know each other, I was living in Smyrna and she was living on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. We were 7,000 miles apart! During the early part of this getting acquainted period, the distance between us didn’t matter, except for the 13-hour time difference, which meant we had to coordinate instant messaging and phone calls. When people are just getting to know each other, the wait between communicating with each other is easy to manage and relaxed.
But as time passes, attachments grow and anticipation builds. The wait between communicating doesn’t pass as easily. Longing begins and fondness turns patience into impatience. Joanna and I experienced this phenomenon. After seven months, we turned the corner from having polite conversation to having meaningful talks. We shared personal matters, allowed ourselves to be vulnerable, and grew in trust and authenticity. Because of this, our relationship grew in depth and meaning even though we were 7,000 miles apart.
In our relationship with God, we can find sometimes find ourselves in a nice and easy rhythm, but at some point, that needs to change to a sense of urgency. To have a personal relationship with God, we have to acknowledge that sin keeps Him at a distance. Reading His Word brings us close to Him. Prayer brings us closer still, and God responds by with the movement and power of His Spirit. But we have to accept that Jesus Christ holds the key to complete fellowship with God. Otherwise, we’ll never get past having a long-distance relationship with Him. We have to accept that Jesus is Lord and understand that we cannot turn away from sin by ourselves.
Jesus’ death on the Cross bridged the gap between sin and righteousness. If we continually acknowledge Him as Lord, the distance between us and God gets smaller and smaller.
Everyday I’m aware of and thankful for His sacrifice. I cannot (and don’t want to) imagine where I would be or who I would be without the intimate relationship I have with Him. Praise God for His loving sacrifice and for loving me enough to save me from myself.
Thanks brother!
thanks so much, terence. i learn so well with analogies. this one was SUCH a helpful way to learn about my LORD just a little bit more. your explanation really helped me get this point, and i loved hearing a little bit of your story with joanna.
Thanks Terence for sharing this wisdom and yours and Joanna’s story. The sense of urgency point you made resonated with me. Thanks brother!
Terence,
Thanks for stating the unspoken. This occurs in most relationships but is never really talked about. To think about this with happening in our relationship to our God is a neat perspective. I find this to be true, the more time I spend with Him the more time I want to spend with him. Another thought is that not speaking with him has much the same effect as sin does, in the fact that a chasm is formed between the created and the creator.