Do you ever have a date with God?
After my surgery I lamented the fact that the first Sunday I was able to attend church again I was unable to dress the way I wanted. Due to the cuts that were made on my abdomen I could only wear my black yoga pants comfortably and how in the world do you dress those up? Maybe a sparkly tank top? OK, I worked in a bit of bling on the tank beneath my black hoodie. But, nothing could hide the fact that I was wearing green sketchers on my feet. Sigh!
So, I've been questioned by a few people about the fact that I was so concerned about my clothes. Well, here goes...
The best way I can explain it is that every week I have a date with God. Well, you're probably thinking that I need to be spending every day with God, not just Sunday. Well, I do. He's a part of my life every day for many many moments through a day. But, it's like any relationship that you want to last. You need to take time in particular ways to express your love for that relationship.
So, you have special dates, times that you set aside that are out of the ordinary. Occasions that highlight and emphasize the fact that this relationship is special and important.
When my husband Wes takes me out on a date and yes after 25 years we still date, I like to dress up for him. It sometimes takes a while, because as I've aged there are so many things to push up, suck in, pluck, tease and hide, but I do the best I can with what I've got.
So, I do my hair and put my make-up on, I'll try on three or four different outfits and then I'm ready to go. He's usually sitting patiently on the couch waiting, but the look in his eyes when I walk out is worth the fuss. I do these things to remind him that he's important enough in my life to take the time to make myself look the best I can just for him. And his response reminds me that he appreciates the effort.
So, back to God. That's what I try to do for Him on a Sunday morning. It's our public date, though we've been meeting privately all week Sunday is our coming out party. I dress up and primp because we have a date. I can't physically see the look in His eyes, but I can feel His love and appreciation. Don't get me wrong, I know that He sees my heart first, but He doesn't stop there does He? He sees the outside too. And I believe that the outside of us is important to maintain because He created us.
In Genesis it shows how He took the time to figure out how He wanted us to look and if He didn't care He would have made us all the same. Male, female, Joe, Bob, Kim or Betty, it wouldn't matter, but it does, because it says that He 'created' us. Create is a word that is so special. He didn't just 'make' us, he 'created'. To create is to be artistic, imaginative and inspired. Scripture goes into enough detail in the time and thought that He took to 'create' us. Read the passage for yourself again, it will make you feel unique and special, loved and desired. God is in love with you, do you know that? He gave you His Son, His Son's life for yours. He's passionate about you. So, why in the world would we not be passionate about our relationship with Him, both inside and out? Why would we not show the world by our inward and outward appearance that we are proud of our relationship with God. That this is a special moment, another week anniversary, a time to celebrate with family and friends who we are in Christ.
He notices the effort we put into our relationship with him, both internally and externally. So, before you start throwing 1 Peter 3:3-4 at me just bear with me, I'm almost done.
Does God really care if we're wearing sneakers or heels, no! Not really. He sees the heart first, the inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit is of great worth to Him. For Christians that's almost a no-brainer. But, does that mean that He can't appreciate us taking the time to offer the inside AND the outside of ourselves to Him? Well, really, you can all decide that for yourselves. As for me, well, Sunday's coming and I've got a date to get ready for!
"So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27
So, I've been questioned by a few people about the fact that I was so concerned about my clothes. Well, here goes...
The best way I can explain it is that every week I have a date with God. Well, you're probably thinking that I need to be spending every day with God, not just Sunday. Well, I do. He's a part of my life every day for many many moments through a day. But, it's like any relationship that you want to last. You need to take time in particular ways to express your love for that relationship.
So, you have special dates, times that you set aside that are out of the ordinary. Occasions that highlight and emphasize the fact that this relationship is special and important.
When my husband Wes takes me out on a date and yes after 25 years we still date, I like to dress up for him. It sometimes takes a while, because as I've aged there are so many things to push up, suck in, pluck, tease and hide, but I do the best I can with what I've got.
So, I do my hair and put my make-up on, I'll try on three or four different outfits and then I'm ready to go. He's usually sitting patiently on the couch waiting, but the look in his eyes when I walk out is worth the fuss. I do these things to remind him that he's important enough in my life to take the time to make myself look the best I can just for him. And his response reminds me that he appreciates the effort.
So, back to God. That's what I try to do for Him on a Sunday morning. It's our public date, though we've been meeting privately all week Sunday is our coming out party. I dress up and primp because we have a date. I can't physically see the look in His eyes, but I can feel His love and appreciation. Don't get me wrong, I know that He sees my heart first, but He doesn't stop there does He? He sees the outside too. And I believe that the outside of us is important to maintain because He created us.
In Genesis it shows how He took the time to figure out how He wanted us to look and if He didn't care He would have made us all the same. Male, female, Joe, Bob, Kim or Betty, it wouldn't matter, but it does, because it says that He 'created' us. Create is a word that is so special. He didn't just 'make' us, he 'created'. To create is to be artistic, imaginative and inspired. Scripture goes into enough detail in the time and thought that He took to 'create' us. Read the passage for yourself again, it will make you feel unique and special, loved and desired. God is in love with you, do you know that? He gave you His Son, His Son's life for yours. He's passionate about you. So, why in the world would we not be passionate about our relationship with Him, both inside and out? Why would we not show the world by our inward and outward appearance that we are proud of our relationship with God. That this is a special moment, another week anniversary, a time to celebrate with family and friends who we are in Christ.
He notices the effort we put into our relationship with him, both internally and externally. So, before you start throwing 1 Peter 3:3-4 at me just bear with me, I'm almost done.
Does God really care if we're wearing sneakers or heels, no! Not really. He sees the heart first, the inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit is of great worth to Him. For Christians that's almost a no-brainer. But, does that mean that He can't appreciate us taking the time to offer the inside AND the outside of ourselves to Him? Well, really, you can all decide that for yourselves. As for me, well, Sunday's coming and I've got a date to get ready for!
"So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27
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