“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:13).

If you’re married, you know that it takes a while to get to know someone. It took months or years before you really got to know your spouse, and even after marriage, you still find things out about them. Can you imagine being married to your spouse but only talking to them for an hour a week?

If you’re not married, imagine dating someone for an hour, marrying them, and then only seeing them for an hour a week every week. That’s ridiculous, but that’s the relationship between many Christians and God.

When you’re married to someone, your entire life is wrapped up in that one person. The two become one. Being in unity with one another is the overflow of spending time together, compromising, and putting their needs before yours. This kind of close relationship takes time and effort to build. It doesn’t happen overnight.

The same goes for our relationship with the Father. If we only spend an hour with Him a week, maybe an hour and a half, there’s not much depth in that relationship. This doesn’t mean you’re not saved, but for you to get to know God well, you must have a history with Him, a relationship that you cultivate every day.

Instead of having the mindset that says, “I should probably spend time with You,” the mindset becomes, “my life is wrapped up in You.” When you know His personality, you’re more eager to serve, and the more you’re with Him, the more like Him you’ll become. It’s an everyday relationship. Your eyes will be opened to the needs around you, and you’ll grow in hospitality and servanthood. It all comes from Him, but the key is being with Him.

In any relationship, time and effort are necessities for growth, and learning God is no different. Your life is no longer your own, but it is wrapped up in the Lord, completely known by Him. And in return, He wants to be completely known by us.