“It Takes A Year!” (Romans 5:8)

A colleague of mine was recently reflecting upon the many business relationships he has encountered over the last twenty years of his career. He had a simple rule to determine whether someone could be trusted. “My mother is the smartest person I know. She gave me some of the best advice on this topic. She said it takes at least a year to truly to get to know someone, to know if you can trust them.”

I nodded and reflected upon my own business relationships. The longer I have done this, the more these words have resonated as truth. Frankly, one year is the minimum amount of time one needs to interact with someone before a trusting relationship can be established. This also overlooks the fact that one year is the time that has elapsed, but actual communication may be as little as one month or less during this same time period.

How long does it take someone to trust another? It is an unanswerable question and one that differs for everyone and every relationship. Thus, it should make me even more grateful to God who trusted me to give my life to Him when I was lost in my sins.

…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

God does not place a time limit on developing a trusting relationship with Him. If we sincerely confess and repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will be saved and have eternal life. This may have happened when one was a child or even in the last moments of one’s life. God’s grace and mercy to us are not bound by time, only limited by our finite life. Once we die, we will never have a chance to accept His offer of salvation and we will never be able to enter into a trusting relationship with Him. God is merciful but He will not force us to accept His glorious offer of salvation and eternal life.

It usually takes a year or longer for me to feel comfortable with another to begin to trust them. Thanks be to God that He is not bound by time. He knows our true intentions and will always accept us a fellow child of God if we are sincerely seeking a relationship with Him.

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.