Partnership
I enjoy a good partnership. I am blessed with one in my marriage. But I also like working independently, which means I am not totally dependent on someone else to accomplish a task… but also means that I am far from one hundred percent self-reliant. Kind of ironic that even in my independence, I am dependent.
A worldly partnership is an arrangement where two or more individuals agree to share in the profits or losses of a business. Depending on the type of partnership, there can be varying degrees of liability for each partner. Worldly partnerships, to be considered valid, involve more than a handshake. There are forms and legalities, documents created, signed, witnessed, and enforced.
Partnerships can be crucial to both our physical and spiritual well-being. I read a reflection recently that opened my mind and heart to the fact that one of the most incredible things I can do for myself is to partner with God with the intentional purpose of self-transformation. This was a revelation! God will collaborate with me to transform my life from the inside out. Transformation… I can’t do this on my own and God won’t do it without my participation.
I like very much that He created me with a free will. But sometimes I wish God would just correct what needs fixing in my life…and not mess with characteristics that I don’t want to change. But that is not the nature of a partnership. Partners merge their talents and treasures. Each of the parties in the partnership should strive to contribute as equally as possible or, at least, fulfill the agreed-upon amount. With God, that amount is not 50-50 but one hundred-fold! For my part, I need to live by faith and trust in His wisdom and guidance. God meets me where I am and accepts my best effort at any given moment.
God does not need us to partner with him. We are the weaker affiliate, but He so desires our partnership. Another recent meditation reminded me that we should actually work on becoming “useless in God’s presence”: the more we empty ourselves, LISTEN, and stop trying so hard to be all things to all people, the more we become open to accepting God’s great gift of partnership.
What is preventing me from committing to or strengthening my partnership with the Lord? As a partner with the Lord, I need to develop the discipline of listening to Him in the silence of my heart.
Through our prayers, let us offer a spiritual handshake of partnership with the Lord. By the way we live our lives, let us confirm our partnership with Him.