My relationships are the most important aspect of my life. Life is relationships, wouldn’t you agree? After all, everything is richer and more enjoyable when you can do it with someone. Vacations are always fuller when you go with someone. Accomplishments are always sweeter when someone is there to savor it with you. Failures are always less devastating when someone you love can help get you back on your feet.
If this is the case, then your relationships are the key to your earthly happiness, and every relationship is enhanced when you mix in the Divine Ingredient.
What Is the Divine Ingredient?
The Divine Ingredient is the mixing of God’s Divine Nature into your heart, mind, and relationships. This connects you to God’s Divine Power and then adds the euphoric taste of God’s goodness into your life.
My wife is a wonderful cook, and she tells me that much of the taste or result of her cooking is dependent upon key ingredients being added. These ingredients then mix in thoroughly and are responsible for the wonderful taste and aroma she is trying to produce. That seems to be the key. A recipe instructs a cook on when and how much of an ingredient to add. By themselves, these ingredients aren’t so impressive. Have you ever just eaten flour straight? Or just eaten baking powder by itself? But when you mix in the right amounts in the right way with other ingredients, then presto! You have a wonderful meal.
This how we should treat the things of God. Unfortunately, too often we take individual ingredients, such as prayer or Bible reading, and we try to digest them separately instead of mixing them with the other aspects of our lives. Taken by themselves, I’ve always struggled to be consistent, and frankly, sometimes they don’t taste so good by themselves. But, for example, when mixed into my relationship with my wife it produces a wonderful taste and aroma that has only enhanced my marriage.
I spend time each day praying for my wife. Since I know her needs and her daily routine, I can then mix the Divine Ingredient of prayer into my marriage. I’m not just saying a memorized prayer or just praying for the sake of praying. I’m focused and intent in my prayers for my wife.
Mixing prayer with my love for my wife has helped my marriage in several ways. First, it gets me to think about her needs and not just my own. Second, it helps me to be more careful of the words I say and more attentive to her perspective. If you are like me, you probably say things off the cuff that are negative and possibly even hurtful. I do this sometimes without thinking—especially when I’m irritated. But when I add prayer into my thinking, I am much more aware of what I say. It has helped our communication and made the home environment much more comfortable and enjoyable.
Add the Divine Ingredient into the Recipe of Your Life
Scripture tells us in 2 Peter 1 that we are to add to our faith. Specifically, he lists several ingredients that if added will make us bountiful and fruitful in our relationships and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ:
- Add virtue to your faith.
- Add knowledge to virtue.
- Add self-control to knowledge.
- Add patience to self-control.
- Add godliness to patience.
- Add brotherly kindness to godliness.
- Add love to godliness.
When we mix these things into each of our relationships so that they affect our hearts and minds, we touch upon the Divine Nature of God Himself. This gives us access to His Divine Power and promises.
Your life is a recipe of relationships. When you add these Divine Ingredients into the mix, stir it around so that they bond with your heart and mind, then you will love the taste and aroma that is the natural result. The Bible tells us to give all diligence to do this and then adds a promise if we do. God said that if we add these things into the recipe of our lives, we will never fall. In other words, you won’t ever take a whiff of your life, wrinkle your nose at the putrid smell, and feel like you need to throw the mixture out. No, if you add the Divine Ingredient, your mouth will water with anticipation of living your life and enjoying your relationships.
