Daily Devotions

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Current Study: Love         

Today’s Topic: Love Means Spending Time

Today’s Scripture:  John 16:6-7  Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 

It was so cute. She came walking into the house pretending to be holding on to a leash. As the door started to close behind her she yelled, “Don’t let the door slam on my crocodile.” I quickly grabbed the door as she walked by pulling the imaginary leash attached to her new imaginary friend. For weeks afterward she never went anywhere without him. He was soon joined by two imaginary lions and a bumble bee. She would make up stories about each one and include them in all of her play time. She knew that each one existed somewhere in real life, but everything about her friends was made up to fit her needs and purposes. We think we have figured out why. Our granddaughter made imaginary friends with everything she was afraid of to calm her fears.

Some people do that with God. They know He exists somewhere out there, but they simply conform Him to fit their own goals or calm their own fears. All of the time they claim to spend with Him is just imaginary play time to please themselves. They have never spent any real time with Him because they still fear the changes He may bring to their lives. There is no true relationship, and certainly no intimacy.

When God first created mankind, He walked and talked with them for real in the Garden of Eden. There was intimacy because there was the sharing of quality time. When sin broke that intimacy, God sent Jesus to re-establish contact. Try to imagine what your relationship with God would be like right now if all record of God contacting man was erased. It would not be considered anything but an imaginary relationship if we had no history upon which to validate God’s character through His interaction with man, and if we had no possible way of spending time with Him today. Relationships require relating. Relating requires reality. The reality is that God sent Jesus to earth to reconcile our broken relationship by relating to us.

The disciples had three years worth of relating to the reality of God revealed in Jesus. Their testimony becomes the history upon which we can know the reality of His existence. But there is so much more. When the time came for Jesus to return to His position of glory at the Father’s right hand, his disciples were scared. They didn’t want to be left alone. Jesus understood their need for ongoing relationship, and gave them an incredible gift – the indwelling and never ending gift of quality time through the presence of His Holy Spirit. He would be in them and with them forever. As great as they thought it was to have a physical relationship with Jesus, they were about to experience something greater – Christ in them. Always. Constant quality time.

The third love language is, as you’ve guessed by now, quality time. It is where true intimacy is developed. Face to face, eyeball to eyeball, heart to heart time. Imaginary time brings zero intimacy. Phone calls and emails only bring limited intimacy. The fullness of intimacy can only be experienced through quality time in personal contact with a real person. We desperately need it in our marriages. Our kids and grandkids need it consistently. We need it for ourselves. There can be no true intimacy without it.

The depth of our intimacy is accurately measured by our commitment to quality time. Our relationship with God proves it. Take away all of the other love languages and leave only this one, and intimacy would still grow. The disciples lost their physical touch of Jesus. There would be no more giving of gifts except for His indwelling presence. They would no longer hear His words of affirmation. Jesus would no longer be there to serve them. Yet Jesus said that it would be good for them to not have any of those things so that they might experience the wonder of quality time. Jesus knew that the highest level of intimacy with God would be found in the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit. Jesus invested in quality time.

But wait – intimacy must be a two-way street. We must also invest in quality time with Him, as well as others. It’s fairly easy to take relationships for granted. We’re in the same house together. If we’re married we sleep in the same bed together. We eat together. We talk about the activities of the day together. But when do we really spend time talking about heart issues? Can we really say that our love and intimacy with one another are growing? Do we really believe that our love and intimacy with God is growing as well when we don’t spend quality time getting to know His heart?

There is no greater gift of intimacy you can give to the one you love than the gift of quality time. Sure, we’re all busy. But really – are we too busy to love? So make a commitment today to get growing. Grow in your love and intimacy with Christ by spending quality time with Him. Don’t take His presence in you for granted. Then do the same with your spouse, your kids, your extended family, and your friends. Long after the activities and gifts are gone, they will remember the time you spent with them.

Pastor John