Friday, 09 August 2024
“Because of the privilege and authority GOD has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith GOD has given us” – Romans 12:3 NLT
A child who was born when I started dating my wife is currently doing their first year at varsity as we speak. That’s how long I’ve had my partner in crime. We’ve been happily married (re kgama ke joy) for all these years, and everyday I thank GOD for uniting me with someone who sees me for me, sees me just as I am. One day out of the blue when I thought we were at our happiest, she said words I wasn’t expecting to hear, “I feel like we’ve been distant lately. We don’t spend time together like we used to.” I must be honest, those words destabilized the “solid” bridge I thought I was standing on. What really shook me was that, at that very moment, I thought we were at our happiest. This meant, for some reason, I was blind to the fact that I had been neglecting her all this time by believing we were solid when we weren’t. Like what Apostle Paul said in the above scripture, I had to soberly review and evaluate my marriage and especially our relationship.
Sunday’s teaching brought back that memory and made me realize, what if there had been moments in my walk with the LORD where I may have thought we were at our happiest, but I had been neglecting my first love? Holy Spirit, through this teaching, is warning us that maybe, just maybe, we aren’t as sure-footed as we may think we are. The relationship we once had with GOD may have dwindled in the midst of serving and doing GOD’s work. We may have become like Martha, consumed with nonsensical things when we should have been Mary and prioritized sitting at our Lover’s feet.
One of the reasons marriages fail is not because of lack of love and affection, if anything, most people who divorce still love each other very much, but the downfall of most marriages is that people stop doing the things they used to do before marriage. Like for example, we no longer take long walks like we used to. Life’s little distractions have really distracted us from our primary pursuit. As Christians, we might no longer yearn for GOD’s presence like we used to. We used to stay all night perusing, meditating, and dissecting the Word of GOD and searching for deeper revelations. We may no longer cherish the presence we used to hunger for when we came to church (familiarity).
“Search me, O GOD, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” (Psalm 139:23 NLT). Well, this teaching has searched our hearts and has revealed our anxious thoughts, so what are we going to do with it? Are we going to be like a man who looks into the mirror and as soon as he turns around he immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1:24)? The Bible says, those who have ears must listen to what the Spirit of the LORD is saying. Well the Spirit is speaking and urging us to prioritize our relationship with our GOD. This is the only relationship we can’t afford to lose or let crumble. This is the one Partner you don’t want as an ex.
“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6 NIV). The question is, are you gonna stand (like Martha) or sit (like Mary)?
Holy Spirit, through this teaching, is warning us that maybe, just maybe, we aren’t as sure-footed as we may think we are. The relationship we once had with GOD may have dwindled in the midst of serving and doing GOD’s work.
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