Alone Time

How is your love life? A funny question to ask. I try not to be an advocate for constant harassment of young people to find out if that special boy or special girl may be on the horizon. But what if you do find someone that seems much more special than all of the rest? You spend time with them. Some people go out on dates and find out about the person. An open conversation begins to show you who that individual is. It tells you what they like, their interests, their goals and their personality. After a certain amount of alone time, you begin to find out what makes that person tick.

If you do end up getting married, alone time never loses its value. In the constant busy world, married couples need to find alone time to help strengthen the bond of love that has been created between them. It becomes a constant reminder of your undying love towards your husband or wife.

"How's your love life?", was the question that Bryon Meyers asked last month on his visit to Saskatoon. He wasn't asking me, but rather the crowd that had gathered to hear him open the word of God. Two year old Denalyn Ronald piped up during the meeting, "perfect!" The hall echoed in laughter at the open response of a two year old girl. But in all honesty, how is your love life?

Do you love the Lord more everyday? He is the one that we should love the most. Is our love life lacking? If it is than you need to go on a 'date' with the Lord: You need some alone time. The best is alone time everyday, so that you will begin to strengthen your relationship to the greatest level while enjoying so much more of our loving Saviour Jesus Christ.

Often I forget what a privilege it is to be able to have alone time with the Lord. Remember back to the days of the old covenant, where the high priest would be able to enter in alone with God. Only a once a year was this great privilege permitted. Remember how the high priestly garments would be glad in bells and pomegranates so others would be able to hear that the high priest was still moving about having not offended God. Going into the presence of God was serious business. Washing, sacrifice, washing, and incense burning. Only then could the high priest enter in on the Day of Atonement behind the veil into holiest of holies with God who was seated on the Mercy Seat between the Cherubim.

In the day of grace, because of our Lord Jesus Christ and in His worthy name we may enter into the presence of God behind the veil. We ourselves have been made priests because of the Lord Jesus, and are able to enter in (1 Peter 2:9). The writer to the Hebrews tells us in 4:16, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Into the presence of God in prayer, what a blessing! We can be thankful we can enter into the presence anywhere and at anytime, for the Lord told the woman at the well, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24).

Alone time with the Lord is precious. The business of this life tends to quickly swallow our time. Going here and there, to meeting and school and work and outreach, than homework or television or sleep. Time passes quickly. The minds of the youth become less potent as they grow old. It becomes harder to memorize and remember things in the Word of God. Time just seems to swallow us up. The Greeks found this, as their mythology would speak of Cronus (who represents time, "chronology") as the "great devourer." We do not believe in Greek Myths, but one thing we do know is that time steals our lives away. Ephesians 5:6 says, "Redeeming (buying back) your time, for the days are evil." Time doesn't simply open up in our lives, we have to make time.

Again, how is that love life with the One who loved us by giving us that inexpressibly valuable gift? We need that alone time with Him if we are ever to be anything for Him. Whether its prayer or reading and meditation, He has given us the privilege of letting us have alone time with Himself: the Creating and Saving and Almighty God.

O the pure delight of a single hour,
When before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend.

- Fanny J. Crosby