Time Together

And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had. 1 Chronicles 13:14

Recently, my adult daughter asked if I’d drive her to town to run an errand with her. I had a list of stuff that I wanted to get done and I didn’t need anything in town, so I said – Of course. I’d love to go. I said this because I realized years ago that time spent with my wife and kids is never time wasted. I know that I won’t regret not getting that garage project done, but I know I’d regret it if I didn’t spend as much time with my family as I could have. I want a close relationship with my wife and kids and so, I know that time together is always worth the effort.

Good relationships take time and effort, but the reward is the relationship itself. This is true with people and it’s true with God, which is the lesson of today’s passage. In the story, the ark of God was stored for three months in the home of a man named Obed-edom. The ark of God was a symbol of God’s presence among his people and while I’m sure it required a significant amount of work to house the ark, the passage says that while he cared for the ark, God blessed Obed-edom and all his household. Obed-edom dwelt with God and God dwelt with him, and he was blessed for the relationship.

We were created to live in a real, tangible, loving relationship with God. That is the overall message of the Bible, and it is the central purpose of our faith. As Christians, our relationship with God is the most important thing about us. You would think then, that if we believe this, that we would invest a tremendous amount of time and energy in that relationship.

I have, however, gone for years of my life, putting very little time or effort into this relationship. In the disaster of my drug addiction, when I went to God, asking how I could change my life, I felt him telling me that every day, I needed to get up early to point my life at him, pursuing him and his will for me. God wanted, and still wants me to pursue him. Daily, my first job as a follower of Christ is to turn my eyes towards him, making my feet follow. For me, this means reading my Bible, praying, and meditating every day, when I first get up. I certainly don’t do it perfectly and I’m still deeply flawed, but I can truly say that time with God has not been wasted and that the relationship has been profoundly rewarding, changing my life forever.