Walk with me and work with me— watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Matthew 11:28–30 (AMP)
You can’t map out how to make a relationship work. Although there are general principles that work for all relationships, each relationship is unique.
As you walk through life with someone, you discover how to grow closer to them. You could call this the “unforced rhythms” of a relationship. You can’t force this closeness. It’s something you develop.
When a couple stops pursuing this closeness, the relationship slowly dies. They come to rely on a few rules of engagement to keep things running smoothly. The relationship begins to run on law rather than love, and that’s no way to grow a relationship. Relationships have to be based on love. Actually, if love comes first, law follows.
When my children were growing up, I didn’t beat them—but this wasn’t because the Bible told me not to. The thought never entered my mind. There was something higher than law at work: LOVE.
This is why the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart. When you love God, you begin to follow His ways not out of obligation or duty, but out of love. As a result, you make wise choices and you improve your life. And instead of resenting His guidelines, you learn to appreciate them because they help you to build an amazing life.
Realize how much God loves you. He wants you to embark on a journey of getting to know Him. Learn the unforced rhythms of having a relationship with Him that’s based on His grace: the love He offers you because He wants to, not because of anything you’ve done to earn it.