At this time of year, when it's cold and dreary, we are thinking about spring! I start longing for flowers in my front containers and green grass growing in the yard. What a pleasure it is to see living things grow and bloom and mature. I've found living things are growing or they are dying. They don't just stay the same.

Love is the same way. Joni Eareckson Tada in her wonderful devotion Diamonds in the Dust says this, "Love must grow. It can't stand still and it certainly cannot go backward. Love must flourish or else it withers and dies. In fact, growth in a relationship is very much like growth in a tree or flower. If a flower doesn't bloom, if a tree doesn't sprout leaves, it signals a problem.

Our love for the Lord Jesus is also a living thing. We are intimately united with Him in His body. Remember, love between you and your Lord, like anything that lives, must grow. Just think, 1 Corinthians 13 is how God feels about you!"

Are your relationships growing? With Jesus? With your spouse? With your loved ones? Joni says, "We can always come up with good excuses as to why our relationships do not progress and increase in love. But instead of blaming others, ask yourself a couple direct questions about love. Do I protect my loved one's reputation? Are my expectations unrealistic? Do I pray committedly? Does my love cover a multitude of the other's sins? Do I keep Christ at the center of our relationship?"

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.       1 Corinthians 13:4-7

What are you doing to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ? Communication is vital to any relationship. Four aspects of communication will help you develop your relationship with Jesus.

* God communicates with us through the Bible, revealing His character and His will.

* We communicate with God through prayer, sharing our thoughts, our needs and our desire to do His will.

* We communicate with Christians through fellowship, encouraging and building up one another.

* We communicate with others who don't know God personally by sharing about our relationship with Jesus.

Find the time to devote to Christ, day in and day out, and watch your relationship with Christ grow by leaps and bounds!

In Christ's ministry together ~ Pastor Caryn