Relationships

Since the beginning of the New Year, I have been working fairly diligently at the task of preparing my house to go on the market in the spring.  So far, I have deep cleaned the bathrooms, re-stained all the cabinets in the house and this last week, have been endeavoring to clean all the interior doors and frames in order to paint or touch up as needed. 

My biggest frustration in all of this though, is the realization that I can’t seem to do as much in one day as I did when I was prepping our home in North Carolina for sale some six years ago!  I hate to admit it… but I think all the physical care of my wife over the last three to four years of her life has done a number on my knees, hips and back. 

I didn’t think much about it at the time, but even though she was a small gal, the constant physical lifting seems to have finally caught up with me… Not that I regret any of it and would repeat the whole thing over again in a heartbeat!

On the positive side, all the recent time working in the house has given me a lot of time to think about my past present and upcoming future in Tennessee.  For the last two weeks I have found myself in a time warp, bringing me back to my senior year in high school, in 1970-71 when Piper and I began our dating adventures.

I’ve told the story before of our first official date where we planned to meet up at the first school dance of the year, when she, arriving (fashionably) late, came walking across the dance floor and captured not only my imagination, but also my heart as she seemed to be aglow with each step she took toward me. 

Something clicked inside me at that moment, and while I couldn’t say that I was thinking that she would one day be my wife… I did get the uncanny sensation that there was definitely something very special about her and that I did not want to let her go, but was excitedly looking forward to exploring the future… side by side with her.

It was then that our 48-year RELATIONSHIP began, and it changed both of our lives forever!  After that, every word shared, every adventure taken, every thought conceived and every dream dreamed was a memory experienced through the eyes of our loving RELATIONSHIP. 

And it was in the focus of all those high school memories that I found myself thinking about while I washed and cleaned and painted around the house.  To me, it was as if each one of those remembrances, every smile and laugh and every word spoken by her, was an integral and empowering part of the RELATIONSHIP that we enjoyed and cultivated throughout the ensuing years.

In my Christian walk, I have also come to understand the importance of enjoying and cultivating a close and personal RELATIONSHIP with the Lord.  The Apostle John incorporates this idea into his gospel when he wrote, in this familiar scripture, about the time Jesus addressed the disciples’ (as well as we modern day believer’s) questions by replying,

“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32 – KJV)

What Jesus is telling us, is that as we ‘CONTINUE’, or “stay in a given place, state, relationship or expectancy”* in His Word, we prove to be… without any doubt… His disciples indeed!  But then Jesus goes deeper by explaining that in that mode of discovery and hungering for the things of God, we will ‘KNOW’ the truth and the knowledge of “that very truth will make you free.”**  The word translated ‘KNOW’ is that familiar word that I’ve talked about before. It defines someone who enjoys a very close and personal RELATIONSHIP with another individual.

So, we see that it is a particular truth that God reveals to us in His Word, that we can put to work, in order to set us free from any personal, physical or mental/emotional difficulties, habit or disability or way of thought.. that is holding us back or inhibiting us from reaching our full potential in life.  Strong’s informs us that that word ‘KNOW’ means “to know something or someone in an absolute way,” while the Mounce Concise Greek – English Dictionary describes it as meaning “to know in such a way that is settled… whether the action be inceptive or complete.”

The Mounce definition reminds me of the memory of my thoughts and decisions made during Piper’s and my first date… as she walked across the dance floor to me.  Our RELATIONSHIP was just at the very inceptive stage… but yet my mind was settled on the fact that I was NOT going to let her get away… as far as I was concerned, she was a keeper and anything she was to say or do from that point on… would have a permanent, and prominent position in my heart as well as a special place in my personal memory.

That is precisely what Jesus was talking about when He said that we would ‘KNOW’ the truth.  That we would have a special connection or maybe better said, RELATIONSHIP with that specific word of truth that will always stay with us and come to mind in times of weakness or difficulty.

You see, Christ and His Word are one*** and He wants us to have a very close and personal RELATONSHIP with Him and His Word.  When you and I read or study the Word it is just as if He is talking to us face to face… because He is!  Hebrews 4:12 tells us that “God’s word is living and active…” ****therefore it is just as new and fresh as when it was originally penned a few thousand years ago.

Hebrews 11:6 declares that “without FAITH it is impossible to please God…”***** So once again, like in our RELATIONSHIPS with our spouses and loved ones, we should also want to please God in our RELATIONSHIP with Him… right?  And how do we do that?  Well… according to Romans 10:17, “Faith cometh by hearing (and hearing, and hearing) and hearing by the Word of God.”*****  

In plan and simple English… that means to be constantly developing and enjoying… your personal RELATIONSHIP with Him in His Word!  So just like I have all kinds of special memories of experiences that I enjoyed with Piper over the years, that speak joy and peace into my heart… as Christians, I believe that God also wants us to have countless special memories of experiences that we’ve enjoyed with Him, that bring instant showers of joy and peace into our lives!

How close is your personal RELATIONSHIP with God in His Word?  What special memories of your interaction with Him do you like to share with others…

Have a terrific weekend!  We sure are around here in Oklahoma.  Today is the first day I haven’t had to wear my heaviest winter coat with a sweater underneath in almost a week… and instead of temperatures hovering below the bottom of my outside thermometers… we are now moving upward into the 60’s again!

PRAISE THE LORD!

And… enjoy your conversations with the Lord in your Bibles today!

 

 

 

 

*Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries

**The New Testament According to the Eastern Texts (George M. Lamsa)

***See John 1:1

**** God’s Word ©

*****King James Version