Monday, Sept. 12, 2011
Weekend Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Love Sex and Marriage - The Love You're Looking For
This eDevotional was written by a volunteer from Timberlake Church.
Read: Romans 12:9-21
Think: My husband and I were on a weekend get-away without the kids, and states away from home. I had never visited California’s countryside before, so you can imagine my delight as the fog of San Francisco cleared and romantic Napa Valley appeared before me. The vineyards blanketed before us like a patchwork quilt of greens and browns, and were a gorgeous example of human ingenuity intertwining with Divine design. During a tasting stop, a friendly gentleman, eager to talk about his wines, explained the concept of meritage. Have you heard of it?
Basically, meritage is a blend. The proportions may vary, but at least three grape varieties must be used to call it a “meritage”. The vintner said, in a poeticism that fit the spirit of the trip, “In a good meritage wine, one grape should not overpower the other- it should be a perfect balance of the different grapes represented. You should be able to explore the hidden secrets of each grape within the perfect blending of all of them.” His quote was so good, I wrote it down.
The young man may have had a secret knowledge of how relationships work best, too. Indeed, the marital relationship thrives as both people are equally represented, neither overpowers the other, and hidden secrets are discovered in the safety of their unity with God as the blending force that makes it all work.
God wants to be smack dab in the middle of our relationships. He wants to heal them, renew them and make them alive. Many relationships have encountered so much pain and conflict, that love just doesn’t seem possible. But love and healing and joy can happen in the love relationship between you and God, regardless of the status of the relationships around you.
The relationship between you and God is primary, and when you allow Him to infuse you with Himself, He has the power to make the disorder, ordered. He can make the broken parts whole again.
Couched within that relationship is dignity and value, safety and adventure, life and happiness. Within the God relationship, we are free to be who we really are, without being controlled or dominated, and not selling out to what other people want us to be. “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) He does not overpower us; instead, He brings out the best in us. He respects and honors what we bring to the relationship and He blends himself into everything we do, giving the relationship a flavor of divinity and hope to all who experience it.
When we have this ongoing, life giving fountain flowing inside of us, it spills over onto our relationships as well. God‘s love makes mending, reconciling, healing and blending two people together possible. He takes the most sour grapes among us and makes the finest wine. The ultimate Vintner works patiently until his work in us is complete and perfect. Philippians 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
He wants to do the same thing in our relationships.
Do: Think of one relationship that you want to improve. Write down how your relationship with God will help you relate better.
Pray: Thank you God for the relationships You’ve put in my life. You are doing a work in my heart and I want to respond to the people in my relationships in cooperation with that work. I pray for the body of Christ that makes up Timberlake Church and that you would draw us together to better serve You.