"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." Eph 1:17 (NIV)
One of the greatest things about relationships is the acquiring and possession of knowledge regarding another person. When the relationship is new, it is filled with excitement by the knowledge and information gathering process. Think of budding romantic relationships where all of life is a distraction that hinders contact with the object of your affection. As much time as possible is spent together both in person and on the phone. Poems are written, song lyrics are dedicated and through it all, learning takes place.
Later, this foundational knowledge is used to make continued interaction as enjoyable and successful as possible. A wife has learned to read a husband's facial expressions and determine his mood. A husband has learned how special certain occasions are and to be sure not to miss them. In stages later still, the frantic chatter of getting to know one another has given way to companionable silence that rest in the peace derived from a life time together and the knowledge that the other is always there and ever shall be until the Lord calls them home.
It must also be said that gaining knowledge of another with whom you are in a relationship almost always lends itself to greater knowledge of yourself. It is unavoidable to learn about what you do well and areas that could use some work.
Beloved our relationship with Jesus has many of these same attributes. For almost all of us, when we begin our relationship with him, we laud it as the best decision we've ever made and the best thing that has ever happened to us. We spend all kinds of time in prayer, bible study and worship. We seek him out in everything we do and we live our lives according to his word. In so doing, we also learn quite a bit about ourselves. Our shortcomings become obvious but our desire to improve them, based on our knowledge of Jesus, becomes paramount. As our relationship with him matures, however, our desire to know him continues to grow and it is we who have become better by conforming to him.
Let us always pursue our relationship with the Lord. Even as we continue to learn more about those with whom we are in a relationship, there is always something fascinating and new to learn about our Savior.
Rejoicing in the Lord,
Lee
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