Goin’ Deep

As fall settles in upon us we should be able to look forward to a less hectic schedule. Of course that’s once we get past hunting season, football, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. I think you realize what I’m trying to say. Even though the days are far shorter, we still have to cram the busyness of our schedules into the same 24-hour slot. It seems there’s no time for one more challenge to add to our overbooked Day Planner, yet that is exactly what I’m going to give you: a challenge to go deep!

In November, I’ll be starting a series entitled Going Deep. Besides the obvious analogy to our beloved football, I believe God is calling us to “Go Deep”! In every relationship the challenge is always present to go a little deeper, become a little more intimate. You must realize it is the very nature of relationships. Relationships are either deepening and growing more intimate or they are dying and coming apart at the seams. That may seem like a bold statement but I believe with all my heart that it is true. There is no coasting or leveling off of relationships. The most dangerous time of any relationship is when we feel we have attained a certain level. We cannot put a goal on any relationship because when we do attain it, the relationship changes. (usually for the worse)

Look at Adam and Eve. Their goal was to “be like God”. They attained the goal by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but what did they lose…. their relationship with God. God was close, intimate, joyful in His relationship toward His creation but suddenly Adam and Eve had disappeared and actually tried to hide from God’s presence. Their relationship died and it took years to get it back.

Young people set a goal of becoming intimate and when they reach the goal the relationship falls apart. Married couples set goals of raising their children and then having time for one another only to find they’ve lost one another along the way. The only goal I have for my marriage is to go deeper. I believe that’s why we have the marriage we do. I don’t settle for good. I strive for great! When I reach great I look for fantastic. When I reach that there’s more! There’s always more in relationships!

It’s also the nature of relationships to become complacent with time. That’s why the husband stops telling his wife, “I love you” before he leaves for work. It’s why we stop saying “thank you” for the little things. We simply get used to one another. I’ve seen older married couples whose marriages have devolved into peaceful co-existence or worse yet, barely manageable tolerance. That’s not a relationship, that’s a prison!

Now let’s shift gears to the spiritual. If I apply the same principles to my spiritual relationship with God then I’m in danger when I think I’ve reached a certain “spiritual milestone”. I stop saying “thank you” and “I love you” to the most important person in my life. Keeping a relationship new and fresh takes W-O-R-K! It does not happen automatically. I believe God is calling us to go deeper in Him. Admit it! You’re relationship with God could probably use some tweaking. However, unlike relationships between two people where both sides need adjusted, our relationship with God is one-sided in the area of “who needs tweaked”. God’s love for us is complete, full, vibrant. The book of Ephesians calls it extravagant! (I love that word) It is always our side of the relationship with God that is less than it could be.

For the next several weeks let’s examine the relationships in our life. I want you to evaluate your relationship with your parents, your children, your friends, and your spouses. Have they reached a plateau? Is the relationship still growing, evolving, changing? If not then your relationship is in danger. Oh it won’t die tomorrow or even next week or next month, but unless something changes it will die eventually. I especially want you to evaluate your relationship with God. I suspect that what I’ll find is people who have attained a certain comfortable level in their personal relationship with God. If that’s you, be careful! God is calling to us, “There’s more!” I hope we all listen.

Love you all,

Pastor Dale & Debi