Don't Let it Fade

[hldude33]

“Don’t Let It Fade”
By Zach Wood
1 John 3:1
“How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

We tend to get used to a lot of things in life, do we not? When something new comes along, we get really excited and am all pumped up about it, but then after a while the excitement seems to fade away. Newness has a strong tendency to wear off after a period of time and things feel “normal” so to speak.

When we moved to Eagle Lake, we were so ecstatic to be living so close to Mankato because we had lived at least 30 minutes away from any shopping places for so many years. However, after a period of time last year, that excitement wore off. It’s still very nice and convenient to have so many shopping choices so close, but the initial hype of it wore off.

When we recently vacationed in Duluth, I was really excited about all the scenery and beauty of Lake Superior and the North Shore. However, I got to thinking about all the people who live up there and are probably somewhat used to all that scenery and possibly doesn’t affect them like it did me. Initial excitement tends to fade away.

This same excitement tends to filter into our relationship and excitement for living for God. There are certainly times we get really excited, but then the routine of daily life gets in the way and brings that excitement down for whatever reason. We have excitement about something new we discover for a while, and then it fades away. I don’t think there’s a single human being in this world who hasn’t experienced this “fade”.

As we read in 1 John, we remember how very great is the love our Father God has for us. He has lavished love upon us, greater than any love we could ever imagine. We are His children! Isn’t that great?? What could be better than being called Children of God? However, the way we live our lives sometimes doesn’t show much excitement. We seem to get used to the life we have in Christ and the excitement fades away. This should not be and we need to learn how to revive our daily excitement and amazement for all God has done for us.

I hope we can all be encouraged today and the days after to not let our excitement for living for Christ fade. Let it be rich, exciting and reviving each new day!

 

[aspen]

While I agree that we should resist complacency, I believe that the nature of our relationship with God changes with maturity. Just like any long term relationship, honeymoon feelings fade and long term feelings of commitment take over. Also, according to attachment theory, we like children, tend to "check in" with God before going out to explore the world - this pattern continues throughout our lives. All mammals do this - it is why your dog doesn't run away from you when off leash - they always come back to check to see if we are still present if they are attached to you as pack leader.

 

[This Vale Of Tears]

While I agree that we should resist complacency, I believe that the nature of our relationship with God changes with maturity. Just like any long term relationship, honeymoon feelings fade and long term feelings of commitment take over. Also, according to attachment theory, we like children, tend to "check in" with God before going out to explore the world - this pattern continues throughout our lives. All mammals do this - it is why your dog doesn't run away from you when off leash - they always come back to check to see if we are still present if they are attached to you as pack leader.

Agreed. I do love the honeymoon period that new Christians go through, but it's also a period untried by trials and tribulation and is marked by a lot of naïvete. Nothing wrong with that, but like St. Paul after his conversion wanted to immediately spread his newfound faith, he was reigned in and properly disciple for a couple of years before he began his ministry. His joy wasn't diminished, but it certainly was tempered.

The OP makes a good point that we shouldn't let our faith grow cold or become jaded. I've been going to holy Mass for all my life, but I make every effort to continually be astonished anew when the common elements of bread and wine are supernaturally transformed into the body and blood of Christ. I try to pass this on to my kids too. People can get used to the miraculous, like the Israelites got used to a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire leading them through the desert, and manna appearing on the ground every morning. They even lost respect for God even amidst wondrous miracles. To be saved by grace, to have our sins completely forgiven, to be given the Holy Spirit as a seal of adoption, to be part of the glorious company of saints and angels and to have the God of this universe living right in our very hearts should blow us away everyday. But we get used to all of this and maybe even lose appreciation for it without continual effort to understand just how significant it all is.