Saturday, November 1, 2003

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known. (John 1.18 NRSV)

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I read somewhere that the Golden Gate Bridge is continually in the process of being repainted. An army of painters never stops painting. They start at one end, and continue until they reach the other end. Then they start over again. This has continued since the bridge's conception. If they would stop their work, the salty ocean air would cause harmful corrosion. In a very short time the bridge would become unsafe as well as unattractive.

Our relationships take a lot of maintenance too.

Allen Loy McGinnis in his book, THE ROMANCE FACTOR, compares it to maintenance on a house. "I have owned homes for twenty-five years," he writes, "and I am still amazed at how much one must do to keep a house from falling down. The forces of nature, things like gravity and the sun cause the house to revert to its natural state. It will crumble if you let it. Put off for a few months a one hour repair job on the gutters and you'll find yourself with a weekend of work to replace the rotted boards. The longer you postpone maintenance, the faster the rate of deterioration.

Our marriages, our connection to God and other important relationships must be worked on constantly. Otherwise they will grow distant and fall apart. God certainly doesn't want that to happen.

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Dear God, help me get to work on the relationships that are important to me and to you. Amen.

Ron Newhouse

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