One-sided relationships
Are we truly committed in our relationship with God?
Is the Lord gently wooing us while we give Him the cold shoulder? True intimacy in any relationship requires intentional effort—built on trust, loyalty, and other foundational ingredients. Imagine being in a relationship, partnership, or marriage where the other person is only loosely committed. How would it feel to be placed on a dusty shelf, pulled down only when needed? Would that relationship blossom in a healthy way?
Our walk with the Lord is no different. Commitment to Him requires intimacy—daily connection, deep love, and intentional pursuit. We want the God of the Universe to be Lord over our lives, not an afterthought.
A relationship with God is like courting the Creator of the Universe for a lifelong bond. Think back to when you were dating and truly interested in someone—didn’t you want to spend every moment with them? Didn’t you fall asleep and wake up with them on your mind, eagerly awaiting a call or text? Did you get dressed with expectancy, imagining a future together? The thoughts and desires were endless. So, what happened to that same passion when it comes to seeking the Lord? Too often, our lives become clouded with responsibilities, endless movies, and constant distractions.
My daughter had an experience at school. She faithfully greeted a classmate every day, waving and saying hello. But for four months, the classmate never responded—always looking the other way. One day, when I picked her up, I told her she didn’t have to keep extending friendship to someone who clearly wasn’t interested. She looked at me softly and said, “But what would God do?” That pierced my heart. She was right—God would continue to show love, even to someone who wanted nothing to do with Him.
How many times have we done the same to the Lord? How often has He waved at us with delight, only to be ignored? How many months—or years—has He been patiently reaching out, waiting for us to open His Word or sit quietly in His presence?
Babies cling to their caregiver for comfort, nourishment, love, and protection. My son wakes up each morning searching for us. If he doesn’t see us, he whimpers, thinking he’s alone. But the moment he finds us, his sadness turns to joy. Our relationship with the Lord is similar—He longs for us to seek Him with the same eagerness. Yet, He gives us free will—not to control us, but to allow us to pursue Him out of genuine desire.
Just as children grow and move through clingy stages, independence, and eventually choose to spend time with their parents out of love rather than obligation, so the Lord desires for us to seek Him simply because we love Him.
“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” Proverbs 30:8–9
One-sided relationships are exhausting. No one enjoys feeling like they are the only one investing in the bond. Over time, the one doing all the work grows weary. Our Heavenly Father is not like us—He never sleeps, never slumbers, and never stops caring.
“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” – Psalm 121:3–4
What an incredible privilege it is to serve such a faithful God—not out of duty, but out of sheer love.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” – John 15:4–7
