My wife is an avid gardener, with a proverbial green thumb. I swear she could grow vegetables in the Sahara Desert. Plants just flourish under her care, producing more food than we could ever use ourselves, something our kids and our neighbors are very grateful for.
A garden, however, will not flourish without proper care. If Ana fails to fertilize her plants, trim and groom them, or provide them with plenty of water, they will shrivel up and die.
Relationships are a lot like that. Marriages die due to neglect or just lack of interest. Passion fades, careers distract, roses stop coming, and kisses become few and far between. Soon they’re just two people sitting on the couch watching TV, – in the same room, but miles apart.
The same thing happens with our relationship with Jesus. You were on fire when you first believed. You told everyone you knew about what you found. You loved spending time in His Word and talked with Him deep into the night. You were in church every week and sometimes in the middle of the week. You just couldn’t get enough of Him.
But it’s so easy to let that love fade, to neglect that morning prayer time, to sleep in on Sabbath morning, to leave Him knocking at the door of your heart, because you don’t have the time to answer. As Jesus lamented in Revelation 2:4,“You have forsaken the love you had at first.” (NIV).
It doesn’t have to be this way, however! Marriages don’t have to shrivel up and die! And your relationship with Jesus can come alive again. But for this to happen you must first “Consider how far you have fallen!” Then, “Repent and do the things you did at first.” (v. 5).
In your marriage, start doing the little things again. Open the door, buy some flowers, whisper “I love you” in the middle of the night. Make each other a priority and put the past in the past. “I’m sorry” goes a long way to heal old wounds. Just love each other and show it every day by what you do.
And when it comes to being with Jesus, give Him first place in your life once more. Make Him the first thing you think of in the morning, His Word the first thing you read. Make Him the center of everything you do. Don’t give up on Jesus, because He will never give up on you.
Remember a garden just needs a little loving care to bear fruit. The same goes for marriages and your relationship with Jesus. So, take care of what you care about! Get out that hose and start watering the relationships in your life today. Then watch how they grow!