Now some may call this a stretch, but here’s an example:
Have you seen the movie 50 First Dates?
We watched it the other night, and I still think it is so good!
Drew Barrymore’s character, Lucy, has suffered a traumatic accident that erases her short-term memory every night while she sleeps, so everyday when she wakes us, she thinks it is Sunday, October 13. Her dad, brother, and the folks at the local diner keep up pretenses so as not to freak her out.
One day, Adam Sandler’s character, Henry, meets Lucy and feels an attraction to her. He continues to pursue her, even after he learns of her condition. In fact, he spends every day trying to get her to fall in love with him.
Lucy’s dad suspiciously asks him, “What’s in it for you?” and Henry replies that he just enjoys her company and wants to see her happy.
Is anything ringing a bell yet?
God relentlessly pursues a relationship with each one of us. His purpose in coming to earth as Jesus was to give us life to the full (John 10:10).
Lucy is indeed wooed by Henry, and he gains her trust. She starts keeping a journal of her own in order to understand what has been happening from her perspective. I’m a big fan of journaling, and I recommend that you keep track of how you are experiencing life, especially how God has blessed you and gotten you through the hard times.
After a while, Lucy realizes all the effort that goes into helping her simply face each day, and she convinces herself that she is a burden. She refuses to receive any more of Henry’s love. She writes him out of her life – literally retyping her journal, leaving out everything that pertained to him. Henry is heart-broken, but she – due to her condition, of course – forgets about him the very next day.
Ah, but she couldn’t erase him completely. Though Henry is physically out of the picture, Lucy finds herself painting his portrait, since his face keeps showing up in her dreams. This is what we call a rumor or a whisper of another world – God has set eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and our souls groan in eager expectation for God’s glory to be revealed (Romans 8:23).
Henry is in agony without Lucy, so he confronts her, asking if he looks at all familiar to her. She says no, but her artwork obviously indicates otherwise. He explains the role he used to have, the role he still wants to have, in her life. They are reconciled and live happily ever after, more or less.
Please tell me that you see God all over this!
Okay, so back to your relationship with God. Are you dating Jesus? How much time are you spending with Him? Curl up on the couch right now and talk to Him as if He is there (He is!). Go take a walk and talk with Him. Grab your Bible and read His love letter to you.
It’s great if you go to church; maybe you even go to retreats and Christian conferences. But do you realize that God wants even more of you? He wants ALL of you! So, don’t just date him. Commit. Seriously, He loves you. He loves you!
