Getting ready for that big “first date”—sharp haircut, new clothes, car washed and waxed. We go to a lot of effort to put our best foot forward, to please and impress. But eventually the relationship becomes more like a comfortable old shoe; we stop trying so hard to be enchanting and charismatic. Muscles melt into pot bellies. Careful creative planning gives way to impulse, routine or neglect. Why? Because we feel secure. Nothing left to prove. Nothing to earn. It’s already ours. The same thing can happen in our relationship with God. We have forgiveness and life because of his generous grace. Nothing left to prove. Nothing to earn. It’s already ours. So, it’s easy to relax to the point of fat and lazy—because the relationship is based on God’s love and grace, rather than our performance. But in the process of growing fat and lazy, we’re also killing ourselves.
