What Do You Work On?
If you have ever read one of Gary Chapman’s books on The Five Love Languages, then you probably remember one of the ways that you prefer to receive love among the choices: gifts, words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service, and quality time. Many years ago, I experienced the ah-ha moment of grasping that I usually love my husband in the love language that is most meaningful to me!My top love language is “acts of service.” I would work so hard trying to run errands for Chris and simplify his life, because that’s what I would want someone to do for me. At the end of the day, I would be worn out from my endeavors and would hope that he had a clue of how hard I had worked to show him love that day. All the while, his love language of “words of affirmation” was nowhere on my radar. He would have much preferred for me to sit down with him and encourage him, rather than to be spinning circles around him.As I was having my priority time recently, I realized that I make this exact same mistake in my relationship with the Lord. I attempt to please the Lord with how I spend my time and how I treat people. Yet I can get so busy doing different “acts of service” that I neglect working on my actual relationship with the Lord. I hear the words of Jesus echo in my mind regarding the busyness of Martha and her sister Mary. Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching,” while Martha complained, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” Jesus made it abundantly clear what was most valuable to Him in Luke 10:42 when He said, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (NIV).If we aren’t careful, we fall into the pattern of working on the things that are easiest for us. In all candidness, it’s easier to “work for” the Lord than to work on our relationship with the Lord. I even had to stop and write down what it would look like to actually work on the relationship. I challenge you to start working on your relationship with God. He will treasure your investment in the relationship over any act of service that may absorb your time.Just like any other meaningful relationship, make sure you:
- Tell the Lord what He means to you;
- Spend time in His presence without a sense of being hurried;
- Give Him your undivided attention… without a tweet, post, or text taking priority.
Our daily priority time is our protected date with the Lord. Be sure to guard that date and keep it relational. Just like in marriage, we must never stop working on the relationship itself. If all of my conversations on dates with Chris began to revolve around our children and activities, we would defeat some of the very purpose of our time alone. With the Lord, be sure you don’t spend every moment absorbed in the details of life around you. Our date with the Lord is to be treasured and protected, no matter how many anniversaries we have celebrated. twitter | facebook