Who is God to You?

How do you see God? As someone far up in the heavens? As an acquaintance, someone you hear about but don’t feel close to? As a friend? As a father? Do you see him as a judgmental God that we fear? To you is he loving and interactive or cold and distant? Does it feel like you could never be close to such a huge, powerful God?

When you have a best friend, you make time for them even if it is just a call, an email or maybe you have lunch together. Maybe you check up on each other to make sure that things are ok with them or their family. Your hearts stay connected even when you are not together. There is something between you that you do not have with other friends or acquaintances, and you have a certain affection for them. Even if you have not seen them for a while, you can immediately pick up where you left off as you get together.

But what if you had a best friend, and the only time you spoke to them was when you needed a favor or wanted to borrow something? You never told them what was going on in your life, the things you were happy or excited about, or the things you were worried about.

We were each created for love and God loves being with us. He wants to share our lives with us, both the good and the not so good. In our lives at some point and in some way, we encounter God, and he invites us to come closer to him. That encounter is the beginning of our personal relationship with him.

I remember one Lent many years ago when my three girls were in school. Each weekday morning, we rushed through the morning to get to school on time. We piled in the car and I would drop them off at their schools and then went on to my work. Over the years, I felt like I had gotten away from God with all the distractions of life. I never prayed anymore and so I decided to do something extra for Lent. After I dropped them off, I would turn off the radio and just talk to God in my 10-minute drive to work. After the six weeks of Lent, I had grown closer to God and never went back to where I was before. God takes whatever efforts we make and gives back abundantly in his own way. It was the beginning of my renewed friendship and a wonderful relationship with God.

It is never too late to begin or begin again a personal relationship with God. Like any relationship, it is ongoing, something we work on as we strive to get closer to him. As you get to know him, your personal relationship with God will grow more intimate.

You will soon realize wherever you are or no matter what you are doing, you will always have someone with you, someone who loves you so much. And like a best friend, if it has been awhile since you prayed or spoke to him, pick up where you left off and God will do the rest.

Copyright © 2024 Marsha Luke – Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted: May be copied in its entirety, but neither retyped nor edited.