Quality Time Will Tell

Do you know the feeling of working really hard to keep a friendship afloat? Maybe it’s a childhood friend or even a more recent acquaintance of sorts. You know you enjoy spending time with this person. You often walk away after hanging out with them, thinking, Man! We should really do that more often!

And yet you don’t make those plans often enough. Life gets in the way. Your schedule is just so busy. And if you’re being honest, there are other ways you’re happy to invest your time apart from tending to that relationship. An initiated invitation doesn’t happen between you two as frequently as you know it should…

Does your time with the Lord ever play out this way?

Breaking The Cycle

The difference between this I-don’t-see-them-often-enough friendship and the God of the universe that His invitation to abide is always present and never revoked, overlooked, or lost in the shuffle. In fact, it was extended to you in Jesus long ago at the cross! Christ made a way for you—God’s “plan A” for your redemption story—as an initiated invitation for relationship way back before time even began.

And you know you enjoy spending with Jesus! You know how your soul benefits from time spent in the Word and in prayer and in fellowship with other believers. Yet you don’t get around to setting aside that time for Him because of how life just gets in the way. And what can you do? Will you ever break this cycle of “well-meaning” apathy?

Faithful Where We Falter

We so often find ourselves in a lukewarm spot towards Jesus, and it’s never really an intentional thing. It all just seems to fall by the wayside accidentally. And this occurrence happens far too often for so many of us. We know what’s good for us and fulfilling and live-giving to us, yet we don’t act or invest in this relationship intentionally.

But the good news of the gospel is that our faithful God never does the same with us. We don’t get lost in His shuffle. We don’t wander out of His line of vision or out of His grasp or calendar margins. He is still now, just as He always has been, sending an intentional invitation to us in Jesus.

You’re Still Invited

And we see this is Revelation 3:20, as the Lord declares, “See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” So listen for that knock.

You haven’t gone too far; in fact, He’s already made His way to your door, and He didn’t even have to move things around for you. His time is already yours. Won’t you take it?

Now What?

Think about the ways you invest your time with those you most care about. Does your calendar reflect your affection for them? In the same way, do the pages of your Bible or journal reflect an intentional investment? Remember that today is the day to accept another initiation into Christ’s unchanging love. Be present with Him. Open up the door and abide.

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