A Relationship

"I am the vine and you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5.
Jesus was speaking these words to encourage his disciples to have a relationship with him. He being the vine that brings all the life, and we being the branches that can bear the fruit. And He tells us apart from him we can do nothing. So the only way we can make anything happen is by having a relationship with Him.
God wants a relationship with us. We should be honored and humbled at the same time. A God that created all things, including us, wants to grow with us, relate to us, be associated with us. He wants us to come to Him with our joys, our pains, our questions, our frustrations, our desires, and our sorrows. He wants to be the first one we think about, the first on our list. He longs for us, He chose us, and He wants for us to choose Him. To do all of this and to grow in our relationship with Him we must first trust Him, and then go to Him in everything.
I can't say I have always put God first on my list or have always had a daily quite time with Him, but I can say for the past 6 years I have put Him first, and my life has changed. I have realized that without Him I can do nothing, and that God is the first person I need to go to. He is the one that will listen to all of my problems no matter how big or small, and He is the only one that can solve the situation and give me my desires. Over the years I have tried to encourage others to spend time with God and to allow their relationship to grow. Some have done this and grown closer, but some have enjoyed this for a time and then fallen away. I have contemplated the difference and I have asked advice, but I have truly had the hardest time figuring this out because I long to have this quiet time with Him daily.
Yesterday, as I was sitting in Sunday school, my friend started discussing how having a relationship with God will gain you wisdom, and out of no where I started thinking about how my relationship has grown with Him. A light went off in my head, and I began to realize what makes the difference. Have you ever heard of The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman? He has so many different editions now, but the love languages stay the same: Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. My love language is quality time, and as I was thinking about why my quiet time has made such an impact in my life I realized it is because time is my love language. I feel loved when people spend time with me, and I give of my time because that is how I show love. I could honestly spend a whole day with just me and God and be so full and want so much more of His Time. And I began to think, well what about others what can they do to feel this love and give this love back to God, and grow in their relationship with God because of their own love langauge. God, however, gives out of all love, because He is love, but every love langauage isn't the same for all people.
As I was going through each love langauge I could see how a long quiet time might not be the best way to grow your relationship with God. Now for Quality Time lovers like myself, you would probably love spending time with God, and show your love to Him by this time. But if you are loved by Words of Affirmation you may feel closest to God when you are worshiping him, praising His name in prayer or song. And when you are reading His Word you may truly enjoy the Psalms or any Word of encoragement in the New Testament. Someone who feels loved through gifts probably shows their love for Christ by giving to the needy, helping those God called us to help with some item they might have. And you may feel loved when God gives you a gift you weren't expecting or you may feel confirmed in His love for you by the gift of His Son Jesus. Now, if acts of service is your love langauge then showing Christ's love draws you closest to God. Going on mission trips, starting a ministry locally, or just helping in your church will help to grow your relationship with Christ. And as you read God's word, whenever you read of the good samaritan or encouragement to be like Christ your love tank begins to fill up (you are a Martha and we all need Martha's). Lastly, if you are like my husband, physical touch is your love lnagauge, and if you met God you would want to run to Him and just give him a big hug. Every time you are around people you try to show Christ love by hugging them, and when they say 'They needed that,' you begin to overflow with love. Every time you hear something that makes your hair stand on end, your heartbeat rapidly, and shivers flow up and down your spine, you feel God's touch on you and you draw closer to Him. Your best reciprocation can be just going to Him in prayer and imagining yourself being held in His arms and telling him everything within you.
These are all just possibilties or ideas of ways you can grow with Christ. God's love is full love, a combination of all the love langauges, and he wants us to take part in each one, but He knows we feel closest to Him in one way over the others. He will speak to us through each of these ways, but which way speaks most to you? Try and figure out which one is your love language, or if you already know, when do you feel like you are growing closest to God?
*The Five Love Langauges: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate. By Gary Chapman