Sunday, December 17, 2006

Bond Lengths and Swimming Lessons

As Christians, there are times in life when the closer you are to God, the further He seems away from you. It seems more difficult to reach Him, to listen to Him, at the times when you are looking for Him the hardest.

Someone described this relationship as the 'bond length' between two atoms. At a distance too far, no bond -no relationship- exists. At a distance too near, the atoms get too close and repel, and the relationship is unstable too. Between atoms there is an 'optimum bond length', a distance where the most stable bond is formed. I guess this analogy applies to all relationships. We all need breathing space; and we all need contact.

With regards to the relationship with God, there is yet another analogy. Those who have taken swimming lessons will know that after you have learnt your first strokes, your coach will stand in front of you, arms outstretched, asking you to swim to him. When you do, he just moves away, further from you, making you swim even more and harder, and for that moment, you just feel that you will never be able to reach him. But evantually, you do.

Similarly, God taught you the strokes of life, taught you to survive. He wants you to try now to reach out for Him, so that when you do, you'll appreciate Him and His teachings even more. This sense of accomplishment that He also grants you will encourage you to swim further in life.

At the times you are close to Him, He loses you sometimes, so that you'll remember He is there by His absence. He forces you to look for Him, because He wants you to always search for Him, renewing your relationship.

Life is a struggle. A struggle to do good, to make the right choices. A stuggle to have Him in your life. A struggle to suffer for Him. But he always be there. Just remember that.

5.moon.sky was here at 5:17 pm