Relationships change

Relationships change.  They grow as each partner grows.  Our relationship with God changes as we grow also.  Paul writes about this process in the following verses;

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am known.” (1 Cor 13:11-12).

A child grows into adulthood gradually.  Our focus becomes sharpened over time.  And, if we are in a good and honest relationship, we not only are “known” by the other person, but we will know our partner as well.  It is a gradual process.

The change that relationships go through depend on the maturity of putting aside childish ways. A child believes things are about himself, though he does not know himself very well.  Over time, the child’s perceptions change.  Relationships, if we let them change, begin to mirror ourselves to us, until we are “face to face” with who we are and what we want.

Until the time that we know ourselves, we cannot truly know our partner.  The same is true in our relationship with God. Even though God does know our inner most thoughts, we only begin to know His as we ourselves gradually mature.  We have different desires as a little child then we do as an adult partner. 

Some of Jesus’ parables are about relationships that change.  We see that a servant can become mature enough to run the Master’s house when He is gone (Lk 12:42-44). But caring for fellow servants in the Master’s absence is far different than being cared for in His presence. The servant may be used to receiving instructions for his every move, however, in the Master’s absence he will implement what he knows to be His will.  This process helps the servant to “know” the Master. We see in this parable that the Master wanted a partner in running his household.  He did not want the servant to remain a child. The Master also wanted the servant’s heart to become known to himself; he was faithful.  That is important in a partner.

I see that my own growth can take place when I trust God’s intentions for every change.  Or, my growth can be hindered by my unwillingness to let go of the way things were in the past.  If I love the paralyzing dependency of being His little child, I get stuck. I also cannot truly know my own heart.  If I want to know God’s heart and its desires, I have to put my childish ways behind me.

Are we willing to let the nature of our relationship with God change? Will we think He has lost interest in us, or we Him?  Or will our maturity lead to truly knowing God as He knows us?  Let us trust God’s intentions and His intense interest in our growth so that we can partner with Him.  Amen.