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How many times have you heard someone say “I will”?  How many times have you said “I will”?  How many times have you, as well as other people, not followed through on those words?  They didn’t and you didn’t.

Now, there is some legal confusion regarding “I will”.  For a personal statement of “I will” simply means that it is my will to do whatever it is that I am promising to do.  The words “I will” can’t technically be held against anyone if they don’t.  For the willingness to do something doesn’t always translate into actually doing something.       

There is also the matter of the understood relationship between the one saying “I will” and the one asking for something to be done.  If it’s a telemarketer asking if you will be available at another time to take their call and you claim “I will”, you get a pass.  Nobody would fault you for saying whatever you need to say, in that situation, to end the conversation. 

It’s quite a different matter altogether if you are talking to someone in your life, a friend, a spouse or a family member, and you claim “I will”.  That statement comes with an understood expectation that you will.  That you will be a person of your word. In this situation, if you don’t, there is no pass.  Your relationship will suffer if you say “I will” and then you don’t. 

So, here is the which comes first, the chicken or the egg, question for you:  Which comes first, you trusting that someone will, because you love them?  Or you loving someone because they followed through on their “I will”?  Do you love the people in your life because of what they do?  Or do you love the people in your life because of who they are? 

Not that actions aren’t important, but answering these questions will shine a light on your understanding of the nature of God.  Are your relationships, or should I say the continuation of your relationships, based on what the other person does or doesn’t do?  Or are your relationships based on who the other person is?

With all of this as a backdrop, let’s take a look at your understanding of the nature of God, as seen through the lens of this “I will” example.  Let’s say, upon closer examination, you realize that you love the people in your life, because of what they do.  This means that, upon closer examination, you believe that God loves you, because of what you do.  Conversely, let’s say, upon closer examination, you realize that you love the people in your life, because of who they are.  This means that, upon closer examination, you believe that God loves you, because of who you are. 

Here is where this all gets really deep.  Again, let’s say, you believe that God loves you because of what you do.  Thus you, in turn, love God because of what God does.  You have a transactional relationship with God.  We will love each other, as long as each other are always doing the right thing.  If I don’t do the right thing, then God will stop loving me.  And if God doesn’t do the right thing, I will stop loving God. 

Conversely, let’s say you believe that God loves you because of who you are.  Thus you, in turn, love God because of who God is.  You have a graceful relationship with God.  You simply love each other, regardless of whether or not what is being done is perceived as right or wrong.  If I don’t do the right thing, God still loves me.  And if God doesn’t do the right thing, I still love God.    

Understanding all of this, if you take a closer look, you will see that you are living out your understanding of the nature of God in your current relationships.  For how you live, the decisions that you make and the steps that you take, all reflect what you believe about the nature of God.  If you believe that God only loves you when you do the right things, it’s a pretty good bet that you only love people in your life, when they do the right things.  Likewise, if you believe that God loves you for who you are, it’s a pretty good bet that you love the people in your life, for who they are.

Are you ready for the good news?  God knows this about all of us.  God knows that we are a stiff-necked, fickle bunch.  Thus, God has covered all of the bases, when it comes to how you understand the nature of God, in relationship to your relationships. 

God loves you for who you are.  God accepts your imperfections and covers all of them with the perfection of Jesus.  But God will also never say “I will” and then not do it.  God has a perfect transactionally graceful relationship with you.  God loves you for who you are, in spite of what you do.  And you can love God for who God is.  For the nature of God is that when God says “I will”, God will.   

All of this means that you can now let go of your transactional relationships with the people in your life.  You can begin to love people for who they are, not what they do.  And it all starts with examining your understanding of the nature of God.