This coming November 8th my wife and I will have been married for 36 years.  I love her so much, and I really enjoy being with her.  I enjoy it because I like her and find her interesting and fun to be with.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to spend time with someone you know, like and enjoy?

It would not say much for our relationship if I only spent time with her and she with me out of a duty to do so.  If we were only spending time with each other simply because we would not wish it to appear as though we were not happily married, that would be both sad and dangerous.

Spending time with someone you enjoy and like comes easy.  But when you are told to spend time with someone you hardly know, aren’t sure you really want to get to know them, and think it will not go all that well to start with, you aren’t very inclined to invest your time and energy into spending any real time with them.  What time you would spend, would be from a motivation of duty and not all that rewarding because of it.

Sadly, this is the reality for many a professing Christian.  They are trapped in spending time doing their devotions from a position of duty.  They’re not all that interested in truly connecting with Jesus in an intimate way as that is somewhat foreign and in some cases scary to them.  They are afraid of what might transpire if it were to really happen.  What would the conversation be like?  What might He put His finger on that is wrong with me?  Or so they think.

You see when believers are being given the true gospel message of His love and grace they see Him as an accuser more than they see Him as an advocate.  When they are under messages of you better or else, they are afraid to approach because they live under an expectation fo being in trouble as opposed to being invited to come and get grace.

When we fail o understand the abundance of favor we have received in Christ we struggle with relating to Him regularly and freely.  But when we begin to get grace and understand the favor that it is and the warm welcome we will experience when we spend time with Him it fuels our desire to be with Him.

One sure way to know whether or not you are convinced of grace is to ask yourself just how freely and eagerly you desire to connect with Him regularly.  Ask yourself if you do devotions out of duty or are eager to discover something new about Him and have Him speak to you.  It really is the starting point of understanding and receiving grace in the way it is meant to be understood and received.

Spending time with Jesus should not be boring, a duty or something less than other experiences in life.  He gave Himself for me and He is the most exciting person that has ever been or will ever be.  His wisdom has no equal, His humor is witty and can even instruct, His love transcends any other love I’ve ever known.  He’s better than any best friend because He understands me better than anyone could ever understand me and still He enjoys being with me.

This is vibrant relationship and it exists because He is real and has made it possible.  I encourage you to enjoy Him today and always and if you seem to have lost the wonder of doing so, I encourage you to go to Him and ask Him to help you get it back.