A Relational God

Sunday nights are small group nights. For the last couple of weeks the lesson topic has been The Image of God. How we reflect God in many areas of our beings. Tonight it was relationships. And it strikes me again and again how amazing is this God we serve. With in relationships there are levels of : self-revelation, emotional attachment, reciprocity, concern for well-being, and correction. And those make sense and we see them in the relationships that we have here on earth. One point that was made about self-revelation is that the more you reveal, the closer you invite someone. But if you don't want someone to be closer to you than you shouldn't reveal so much. This was stated a bit more towards caution of unloading your burdens to a stranger. Or getting to close to the opposite than is appropriate. But on the twist side, if you do want to have a closer relationship with someone, often its best to revel yourself to them, which encourages reciprocity. And I've seen that. You ladies have probably seen my desire for deep friendships. It's scary territory to be that open, but someone has to start.

So now let's take a step back and consider our King. Talk about self-revelation. All of nature sings of His glory. Nature itself points to an amazing Creator, artistic Master of all. Yet, He gives us even more. He writes a love letter to us, picking us, choosing us, coaxing us to draw closer and know Him. And in His self-revelation, He also includes correction, because He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows the very pitfalls that we will keep us separated from Him and He tells us. Then on top of the songs of creation, and the love letters, He himself arrives in a form that we should best understand: human.

So based on how much God has reveled of Himself and the extent that He has gone through to revel Himself to us in ways which we can comprehend...how close do you think that He wants to get?

On a side note, I just wanted to comment on God's graciousness in restoring relationships. There have been many times in my life where friendships of various degrees have lapsed, broken, or faded. Sometimes my fault or the other's, but in general due to business and carelessness. It always amazes me when God brings someone back into my life and gives me the opportunity to restore a relationship.