Who is God to ME?

After about an hour of messing with the new template creator, I decided it was time to actually write the post for today.  Naturally after a distraction comes a disaster so my computer decided to freeze.  Anyway, I have something a little more thoughtful that I want to write about soon, but due to time I'll be saving that for a later date.

For today I want to talk about something that I first first thought about during the during summit 2010.  Yes I am sure that we all remember it, the one that made the sheltered home-schoolers mouths hit the floor.  Anyway, I am not sure that what I started thinking about has anything to do with the messages, but it has to do with the person of God.  Who is he exactly?  And more specifically, what is he to me?

We have all heard the Christian God called numerous things as we've grown up.  Jehovah (provider), Father, Counselor, Friend, Alpha and Omega, Yahweh (divine, more personal name for God), King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Elyon (most high), Prince of Peace, and maybe even Allah.  However, I was realizing that God has each of these names for a reason.  Each person looks at God as a little bit different.  Many people look to God to fill something that is missing in their lives.  As a matter of fact, a popular atheistic stance is that God isn't real because he is just a wonderful illusion of something that we don't have, or something that we want.  So I began thinking what is God to me, and how do I treat him?

For the record, I do not believe God is any one of these things.  The truth is the opposite -- God is all of the above.  God made all these things and many of them already have places on Earth.  We have fathers, and kings and counselors and friends.  So why do we call God these things?  I believe we call him these things because these are what we hold as most dear and powerful.  To a child, no one is greater than daddy, not even a different daddy comes close.  To a servant no one is greater than his king, lord, or master.  We use these words to describe God because we have nothing better.  Our minds can not comprehend words to describe how great God really is so we give him what is greatest to us.  That said, there is nothing wrong with giving God any of these titles.

Friend -- what God is to me.  Many of you may have heard me use the phrase "God and I have a special friendship relationship."  I do not know if I am entirely right or nearing heresy, but I enjoy having God be a friend and treat him as such.  I occasionally joke around with God and make humorous statements concerning Him or something about Him.  I even sometimes pretend to predict what God what say.  Something I might say is "God is probably like... well that was a dumb move wasn't it?" Or something along those lines.  It is ok to have fun with God?  It's no different than I would treat myself.  If God made us according to His own image, shouldn't that mean that God also has a sense of humor?  I believe that it does.  I also believe that there is a degree of appropriateness.  It would be foolish to mock the Lord or to try and make him appear out of control or less powerful than he is.  But I have not felt convicted nor have I developed any terrible diseases or gotten hit by lightning lately so for now I believe I am ok.

The problem is this.  Sometimes it is easy to look at God as a friend.  Friends can be viewed too easily as equals.  I think that there have been times in my life that I have placed God into the friend box ignoring the fact that he is much more.  I don't think that it's something I really struggle with but I am sure there have been times.  It's important to remember that God is a few more things.

Lord-- is probably the easiest one for me to see God as.  When I think of the word Lord I think about savior.  I think about how he is the one who is going to save me when all is said and done.  The Lord will have mercy on me in the end and he, through Jesus, will be the one welcoming me into heaven.

King-- is one I may struggle with most.  A king is someone who rules over you.  He essentially has the right to tell you exactly what to do.  Going against the king and his will results in death in most cases.  This is the same way God as king works.  However, he is also a forgiving king who gives mercy.  God places rules and boundaries in our lives.  He wants us to be his willful servants, not forced slaves.  He also wants his servants to build his kingdom.  I highly doubt that I am alone when I say this is a tough person to have God be.  How often do we care more about our own personal kingdoms than God's?  I know that there have been times in my life when I was not building God's kingdom.  Every time we conform to the ways of our non-Christian, or even Christian friends we are not building God's kingdom.  Unfortunately, there is way to much of the denying Peter in most all of us.  A king is also to be respected and honored by his people.  If God is our King how much more should he be honored and respected?  When we become like the people of this worldly kingdom, we are not respecting and honoring the heavenly kingdom of God.  Seeing God as my king is something I still need to work on at times.

Many of the characters of God are easier to see and accept for me.  I can see God as Jehovah and all the things he provides for me.  I can see him as the one true divine Lord, Yahweh.  He is my beginning and end, counselor and father.  I need to remember daily that God is all these things to me and more.  I need to be able to give God the respect and honor that he deserves in each of these positions.  It is important to make sure that we are not accidentally looking at God as only one of the above.  I need to make sure I am not limiting God by confining Him to one area or another.  All parts of my life need to be dictated and mandated by Him and through Him.  There is no one like my God.  What about yours?

I challenge you to think of as many things/names/descriptions as you can for God.  Then see how you line up with each.  Do you see God as a father but struggle to see him as Lord?  Or do you see him as a counselor who is there to fix your problems but forget that he is your creator?  Ask yourself which relationship is easiest for you to have with God, which one is most common, and then which relationship is hardest, or least common, in your life.  Perhaps you will find something in your walk that you have never noticed before.

My prayers are with you all, thank you for reading :)

Your friend, brother, and companion in Christ,
-Zachary Haas