“Remember, those who
win the game, lose the love they sought to gain. Indebentures of quality, and
dubious integrity. Their small town eyes will gape at you in dull surprise when
payment due exceeds accounts received… at seventeen.”
While walking one day, I was listening to my iPod (yes, I do
in fact have something other than Fleetwood Mac on there, and yes, this song
is one of them) and my brain somehow, like a broken record, got stuck on the
end of the second verse above. It may only be because I now have a friend who is
in finance and she happens to work in accounts payable, which I gather is the
opposite of accounts receivable, both of which she talks about a lot (the only
business class I had in college was called, “Where to Find the Business Office
to Pay Your Tuition” so normally anything remotely business related goes in
one ear and out the other). This lyric stayed inside my head though, suggesting
that marriage comes as something expected to only certain types of girls and
they can soon discover, popularity isn’t all they think it to be. It refers to
the “dull surprise” these girls get when, after signing on for what we called
in college, the M.R.S. Degree, they get the tables turned on them when what
little they put into it isn’t enough to compensate for all that was expected of
them.
I could write a book on what I don’t know about marriage but
I do suspect that much like the relationship between a husband and wife, our
relationship with God must be similar in that BOTH parties contribute. Note
that I am NOT speaking of whether or not we are acceptable to God once we are
Christian. While we are to be Christ-like and strive for perfection, He well
understands the enormity of the gap between HIS perfection and our
sorry-selves. Nor am I suggesting that once we are Christian He requires us
to feed the coffers in payback for what he’s done for us. Our sins have been
paid for by Christ Jesus. We owe him nothing for them.
However, the Christian who is living the life He desires us to, will display with at the very least, sincerity of thought, word and action… a
true understanding of all He has done for us. If we do not contribute back from
our own desire and love for Him, the daily relationship He wants to have with
us suffers. He paid and continues to pay into us with an amazing plan for our
lives. Would it not make sense then, for us to pay into Him? Do we really think
it right to accept a gift without sincere thanks? Would it be right to accept
Christ and then ignore the responsibility we have to glorify God by putting
effort back into our relationship with Him?
Many times I think I put into it far less into this relationship
with Him than I should. It’s very easy to look like I’m putting in 110% and yet
I’m in “dull surprise” when He takes me down a path that enlightens me to the fact
that after becoming a Christian, there are still expectations between me and
the God who saved me. Relationships are indeed two way streets and when only
one party contributes to the account… it suffers. Do you, like me, need to dust
off a bible or prayer book, or find at least five extra minutes in the day to
work on the relationship? He’s constantly in devotion to us. I think we do in
fact owe Him that much back.
Heather Eddy is the Assistant Director of Christian Education. She is a guest post crowd favorite, and we look forward to hearing more from her this sumer. Heather is currently spending her summer preparing to take Sardis children through the wilderness of Vacation Bible School, and her college students through the wilderness of Pre-Nursing Anatomy and Physiology. Somewhere in there, she'll find time to visit the Statue of Liberty over the 4th of July.
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