Believe it or not, I once broke up with a guy who was too romantic. Seriously! He even called himself the King of Romance as he constantly spoiled me with elaborate dates, flowers, chocolates, gifts, and even poetry. Honestly, I loved every bit of it... at first. I was head-over-heels in love with this guy! Yet, it didn’t take long to realize our relationship was lacking in other important areas. While he was busy trying to whip up his next grand romantic gesture, he failed to be dependable. Our relationship may have been ignited by big sparks of infatuation, but it wasn’t going to last without trust and authentic friendship.

The core of our relationship reflects a Godly friendship built on trust.

My favorite part of my marriage is the intimate friendship I have with my husband. There is still romance between us, but that plays a pretty small part of our lives. The core of our relationship reflects a Godly friendship built on trust. We both served in Spiritual Leadership positions in our college dorm, which didn’t allow us to date one another. Since we were not allowed to date, we were forced to focus on growing as friends. This turned out to be the best thing for our marriage which continues to be fueled by a dependable friendship. Don’t get me wrong, when we were dating, emotions were high, and we were definitely head-over-heels in love. But our relationship was driven by friendship first.

Even though I didn’t always feel God’s presence, I continued a friendship with Christ through knowledge, experiences, and attempting to obey God’s commands.

My relationship with God began in in the same way as it did with Mr. King of Romance. It all started with big, infatuated, teenage emotions. I was totally head-over-heels for God, and Jesus swept me off my feet. There’s nothing wrong with that, and it was a beautiful start. However, it didn’t take long for those emotions to fizzle as I realized Christianity is not just about experiencing God emotionally. Even though I didn’t always feel God’s presence, I continued a friendship with Christ through knowledge, experiences, and attempting to obey God’s commands. Now, my relationship with God is more like my relationship with my husband. It’s built on trust and intimacy that comes through gaining knowledge and having experiences together.

In John 15:9-11 Jesus expressed, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” Jesus wants us to remain in God at all times. We are called to trust and have faith even when we don’t feel the presence of God. We are called to fall back on that friendship.

Discussion Questions:

• What big spiritual highs have you experienced?
• Do you tend to rely more on your feelings or knowledge when it comes to standing firm in your faith?
• How have you experienced spiritual maturity?
• What ways can you grow in your faith in your day-to-day life?