I was talking to a friend of mine who had just got engaged.

He was pretty excited about the whole thing. He's now over 40, and I suppose if you have stayed single as long as that, the whole prospect of marriage must be especially exciting. He was over the moon.

There was only one drawback. His fiancee lived in America!

Obviously, this created all sorts of problems. Not only was it a strain on them both emotionally, but the whole business of being together, making plans, and talking about their future was impossible.

You see, people who are in love, need to be together.

In fact the acid test of love, is that those who profess to be in love, want to spend time together. All sorts of stresses occur when circumstances keep them apart and there's something not quite right in a relationship, when a couple begin finding excuses to avoid being together.

Now, I profess to love Christ.

I claim that I'm not only a disciple, prepared to follow His teaching, but a lover, hopelessly head over heels in love, continually desiring His presence and companionship.

My problem is, that while I claim to be in love, the desire to spend time with the Lord doesn't appear to be very strong; and I suspect I'm not alone.

I suspect that many of us spend only 5 or 10 minutes a day of quality time with the Lord; confiding in Him; seeking His advice; sharing our fears with Him; asking his help.

Oh we know His presence is always with us, that He shares our lives; but what would our marriages be like if we spent all day with our wives and husbands, knowing they were there, but never speaking to them?

One of the great joys in a marriage, is to get the children safely tucked up in bed, and then sit in front of the fire together and share what we did today, plan what we will do tomorrow, seek advice and tell each other how important they are to us and how much we love them.

The reason my friend is getting married is to end the situation of having to live many miles apart, and begin to spend time with the one he loves.

That's the essence of human love.

God's love for us is far greater than that. He wants not only to spend time with us, but eternity.

That's why He came; why He died;.why He rose again.

He tells us why in John 14 verse 3, "So that where I am, there you may be also."

Jesus loves us. He loves us so much He wants to spend eternity with us.

We must want to spend time with Him.

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