Like most people, I am a very busy person. One thing that gets rushed in my life is my time with God. I get up early to do a devotion and read (usually Psalms), and I get some prayers in before my house starts waking up. I try really hard not to rattle off a laundry list of requests, but there are so many around me that need prayer. What I love the most is to just sit and ponder the amazing God I serve, and the way He allows me to see Him in events and nature.
What I really like about my relationship with God is that there is a friendship that can continue throughout the day. I can praise God in my car with music, and I can stop and talk to Him when I am grocery shopping or while I have a few quiet moments picking up a child from school. When I am frustrated or sad, I can have an honest conversation. I can ask questions and look for answers in His Word.
I really waver between guilt of not spending an hour in quiet time, and the reminder that God's yoke is easy and that our love and friendship picks up the second I call His name. I think of how he says that Jesus is the Bridegroom, and we are the bride. It makes me think of my relationship with Jon and how we can go all day not talking because we are busy with work, but when he walks in the door it is so nice to have him home.
The Scriptures employ a wide scale of metaphors to capture the many facets of our relationship with God. If you consider them in a sort of ascending order, there is a noticeable and breathtaking progression. Down near the bottom of the totem pole we are the clay and he the Potter. Moving up a notch, we are the sheep and he the Shepherd, which is a little better position on the food chain but hardly flattering; sheep don't have a reputation as the most graceful and intelligent creatures in the world. Moving upward, we are the servants of the Master, which at least lets us into the house, even if we have to wipe our feet, watch our manners, and not talk too much. Most Christians never get past this point, but the ladder of metaphors is about to make a swift ascent. God also calls us his children and himself our heavenly Father, which brings us into the possibility of real intimacy-love is not one of the things a vase and its craftsman share together, nor does a sheep truly know the heart of the shepherd, though it may enjoy the fruits of his kindness. Still, there is something missing even in the best parent-child relationship. Friendship levels the playing field in a way family never can, at least not until the kids have grown and left the house. Friendship opens a level of communion that a five-year-old doesn't know with his mother and father. And "friends" are what he calls us.
But there is still a higher and deeper level of intimacy and partnership awaiting us at the top of this metaphorical ascent. We are lovers. The courtship that began with a honeymoon in the Garden culminates in the wedding feast of the Lamb. "I will take delight in you," he says to us, "as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will I rejoice over you." - The Sacred Romance by authors Brent Curtis and John Eldredge
I always want more of God, more time with my savior, Jesus. I am so thankful that He is there for me every second of the day.
Sandy
