6. My relationship with Jesus may include stages or seasons that correspond to my personal development.
How has your growth as a child of God paralleled your growth as a person?
What developmental stage would you say you are experiencing in your relationship with Jesus?
Is there something new or different you sense Jesus inviting you into in your relationship with Him? Try to describe it.
What do you long for, and what does this longing tell you about what stage you might be in?
One way of understanding our spiritual journey is to see it as the development of a real, authentic, and increasingly intimate relationship with Jesus. Like any relationship, intimacy is something that takes time to develop. The best examples of intimate relationships are those between friends and the healthy relationships between parent and child.
Friendships grow in quality as friends spend time together, do things together, and learn to know each other. Two people may quickly choose to be friends, but the intimacy of their friendship happens over time. As this friendship develops it will pass through seasons and transitions. It will be affected by shared experiences and conversations, but it will also change as each individual grows in their relational capacity or maturity.
Our relationship with Jesus will also experience changes, transitions, and seasons as we give it time and attention. These seasons will be unique to each individual and often can be similar to our human development. The relationship between any infant and their parent can be described as complete dependency. As the child grows and speech develops, the child takes more responsibility for its needs. Adolescence brings about new dynamics in the relationship as the emerging adult seeks to understand their identity apart from their parents. As the child’s identity forms in early adulthood, the relationship with the parents takes on a more mature nature.
At some point, if the relationship is healthy, parent and child will relate to each other person to person, as true friends, without dependency yet with a deep desire for each other. It is similar in our relationship with Jesus. Early in our relationship we are completely dependent on His grace to live differently and are grateful for His forgiveness. As we grow we take more responsibility for our actions and needs and the relationship begins to mature. With growing familiarity and conversation, the intimacy of our friendship develops, and we experience a depth of love not previously felt.
This reflects a normal and healthy journey in our relationship with Jesus, one that reflects a growth in relational maturity on our part. Just as good parents love their children fully in each stage, God delights in us as we pass through phases in our relationship with Him and enjoys all of our “age-appropriate” relationships with Him.