Relationships

One-sided relationships are painful. You are the one that calls just to see how their day is going, but never receive one in return. You send cards, but never get them. You attempt to set dates to get together, but there is always an excuse why they can't.

It’s relationships like these that make you realize how empty everything is without the heart, without mutual affection. In a one-sided relationship you begin to realize that you are the only one reaching out, that nobody is reaching out for you. The other person is just going through the motions to fulfill some sense of obligation, and you feel they would prefer that you left them alone. It’s not a fulfilling relationship, it’s a one-sided affair, and you feel like a rejected fool.

I imagine that this is how God feels with us sometimes. He reaches out to embrace us, but we don’t embrace him in return. He tries to walk with us, but we hold his hand stiffly, fulfilling a duty instead of enjoying a tender touch. We go through the motions, acting like we belong to God, while our hearts are far away. We never reach for him. Sometimes we would prefer he weren’t in our life so we could be free to do the things we really want to do. We claim to be with God, but he knows that we have rejected him.

One-sided relationships are painful for both of the parties involved. The real joy comes in giving yourself body and soul to one who loves you in return. God doesn’t want us to just act like we are with him, he wants our hearts, our passions, our sincere love. That’s the kind of relationship that will last through the ages.