We kicked off our second week in the topic of a big, big God last night by talking through why God would want a relationship with us. It's a great question, but before we jumped into it, I had the kids go through and list out the different qualities and characteristics that they have for a "perfect friend". Their list consisted of things like loyalty, honesty, trustworthy, kind, loving, caring and numerous other traits that most everyone would have on such a list. Even at such a young age, they know what is important in a friendship.
So we opened the Bible and looked at Psalm 8:3-4. Here we see David addressing God and telling Him how he thinks about how awesome He is. He talks about God's power and creativity and you can really sense how awe struck David is by God. But then he asks God why such a powerful, creative, holy God would think or care about sinful, fallen humans. As we unpack the idea of our relationship with God, it is easy to see where we would benefit from having God in our lives and the perks of that relationship. But God kinda gets the short end of that stick. He not only meets but exceeds the qualities that we listed for a perfect friend and yet we don't even come close. So why would God want a relationship with us?
We then flipped over a few chapters to Psalm 37:23-24. Here we see the care that God has for us, that even as we stumble, He is there to help catch us. There are a couple of good things here. The first is that David starts by saying, "If the Lord is pleased with the way a man lives" which we have talked about over the last couple weeks. Following rules, being nice, tossing a few bucks in the offering plate and all the other "Christian" things we do are great, but God is only pleased by our faith. And our faith is our part of the relationship we have with God. So this is specifically addressing those who have a relationship with God because of their faith, which is what pleases Him. Then David talks about the care that God shows us. When I look at this, I can't help but think about walking with my kids when they were young. They often tripped and stumbled. So many times I would hold their hand and when they took a bad step, before they could hit the ground, I had pulled them up and kept them from falling. But they had to hold my hand. If they chose to walk without holding my hand, then often they would fall. And while I would help them up, wipe away their tears and clean their wounds, I couldn't save them from the fall. That is the kind of relationship David is talking about. Reliance upon God is essential.
We looked a little more at this aspect of our relationship by turning to Jeremiah 29:11. Here we see God say that He knows the plans He has for us and they are good and He wants to see us succeed. Of course I asked the kids if this means that everything we do will work out and that all things in life will be perfect. They knew better. I pointed out that God says that He knows the plans HE has for us. But those plan hinge upon something very important: our obedience. When we put our plans ahead of God's plans, then we upset the plans that God designed that keep us upright and successful. He allows us to choose for the same reasons we allows us the free will to make all the other choices, which is ultimately to bring glory to Himself when we choose to follow. God allows us to fail in our relationship to show how unfailing He is. But even when we do, we know that He is able to redeem even the worst things and work them out for those that love Him.
The last verse we hit really sums it up. In Isaiah 49:1, we see the prophet telling everyone that God chose him before he was even born. He appointed him by name. I told the kids that this part of our relationship with God is unique as God has known us before we were born, before our parents were born and even before creation. Omniscience is part of what makes God “God”. I then went on to explain that when God says he knows us, it is not that he knows of us, but knows us completely. This is where the English language fails us. I used the example of a picture of Justin Bieber or President Obama. If you held up a picture of either of them for me to see, I would say that I know who that is. In much the same way, if someone held my picture up for them, they would admit that they don't know who I am. This is the "know" of recognition. And even though I might know facts and details about both of their lives, I can't say that I know them because I do not have a relationship with them. But God knows us. He doesn't just recognize us and have our names memorized, He knows every detail of our life. He knows our every action, our every word and even our every thought. From the moment of conception, through the last breathe we draw on earth, and to our infinite existence in heaven, God knows every aspect of each and every one of us. And He still loves us and still wants a relationship with us.
Awesome! God wants to be my best friend. While that was the point of our discussion, it is not where we stopped because it is only partially true. Yes, God wants a relationship with us that includes characteristics of what we think of as "friendship", but there are other things that He desires that go beyond being a friend. We see that in the way Jesus related to Him on earth. The religious officials put God's name at such a holy level that they wouldn't even include the vowels when they wrote out Yahweh. When Jesus shows up and prays to God with the very intimate phrase "abba" or "daddy", they were completely livid. But that is what God desires from us. Not only that we would consider Him to be our father, but that He would be our daddy. We talked through that a bit as we looked at the difference in how we address our earthly fathers. Using the word daddy says a lot without really saying it. It conveys intimacy, reliance, humility and disregard of what others think. And God desires those things from us. But daddy is a much different thing than friend. However, there are aspects of both of those earthly models that God wants in the relationship He has with us.
But He is also God. And while friendship and paternal characteristics line up with how we relate to God to a degree, there is also an aspect that those two things fail to address: the fact that He desires to be our Lord. Being our God means that we submit to Him completely. It isn't the same option we have with our friends or even the defiance we sometimes show to our parents. As our Lord or King, God deserves our complete surrender. Defiance of a king on earth is considered treason and a capital crime. It’s that big of a deal. There is simply a part of our relationship with God that demands reverence and submission because of who He is. And while we often fall short of that, we rejoice in the fact that He is loving, gracious and merciful.
So where does that leave us? Well, it gives me a tremendous amount of confidence that God knows me better than anyone, flaws and all, and still accepts me. It brings me joy that I get to relate to Him as a friend, father and God. But it also reminds me that in those three parts of our relationship, even though He loves me regardless, I want to also be the best friend, son and subject that I can be. Not because of rules, reward or repercussion, but because of relationship. He is worthy of my best, even though He accepts my worst. And He doesn't have to be. He could be an impersonal, indifferent God that set it all into motion and stepped away. He could be a God full of wrath and vengeance for those who fail to follow His ways. He could treat us like toys or pets or program us like robots. But He chooses to love us, to let us choose to love Him and He wants a relationship with us individually, no matter what we do. And because of that, He'll never be just a friend.
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