Who is your God? How do you see Him? Is He far off or close at hand? Is He a judge ready to convict you every time you do something wrong? Is He a loving Father that does chastise us when we do wrong but is also there to comfort us? What is your experience?
One of the early lessons I learned was that God was dynamic and not static. That He desires relationship but that it is our decision as to what kind of relationship we enter into with Him. This leads to – what kind of God do you need? First and foremost, God is. Period. He changes not according to His words (Malachi 3:6). And yet we see Him stay His hand of judgment when Moses prays for the people, that He would. However personally I believe that this is not the same thing. When it comes to Who He is as He has spoken in scripture, when it comes to the standards He function by, when it is the essential – these don’t change. Our understanding and perception may grow but the essence doesn’t change. Another terrific lesson is that it proves He listens to us.
Back to the question – what is your relationship? Are you growing in this? I remember when I ‘encountered’ this question – who/what/when/why was my relationship? In the time of the Exodus, Moses was considered a friend of God. They walked and talked together. The people had seen, first-hand, what God could do and how He cared for them. What did the people do? Exodus 20:19 – “Then they said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.'” And so it was Moses and not the people with Moses that had the relationship.
1Peter 2:9 – once again God came to His people, seeking a much closer relationship: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” Peter is speaking to the people who have believed on and accepted Jesus as Lord. This is our promise, our right – NOW. Again… what kind of relationship do you want with your Lord and God?
