Your relationship with God

The truth about the type of relationship God wants to have with you will probably surprise you. How to build this relationship in the way that He expects? 

To understand what kind of relationship God wants to have with us, we must first understand why He created us. This is the first question we will answer.    

The truth about the relationship God wants to have with you will undoubtedly change your life — that's how amazing it is. All the time you spend discovering the answer will be worth it.

Why did God create man?

Let's start at the beginning: the story of the creation of the first man and the first woman.

After creating all the animals "according to their species", "God said: Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens, over the beasts, over all the earth, and over every animal that crawls on the earth. 

“And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and said to them: Be fruitful and multiply; Fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, and all the beasts that move upon the earth ”(Genesis 1:24, 26-28; emphasis added).

Amazing, isn't it? While animals were created according to the animal species, man was created according to the divine species, in the image of God Himself.

How does God see us then?

The answer is in the Gospel of John, who tells us of the incredible and merciful mission that Christ (one of the members of the divine family) had when he came to earth:

“He was in the world, and the world was made by him; but the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. But to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God ”(John 1: 10-12; emphasis added).   

God as Father

Christ, God in the flesh, came to earth to save humanity. And it was He Himself who taught His disciples to refer to the Almighty God as "Father who is in heaven" or "Heavenly Father" (as happens for example in Matthew 5:16, 45, 48; 6:14, 26, 32 ). 

Furthermore, when they asked him to teach them to pray, Christ gave them a model of prayer that began by highlighting this important aspect of Almighty God: "You therefore will pray like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name" (Matthew 6: 9).

In fact, one of the reasons that Christ came to earth was to reveal God the Father. This is why he said: “All things were delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal him ”(Matthew 11:27).

God's family

God is a family God. The physical creation is a reflection of the spiritual, and his greatest desire is to bring many children to glory: “For it was fitting for him for whose cause all things are, and for whom all things subsist, that having to bring many children to glory be perfected by afflictions to the author of their salvation ”(Hebrews 2:10).

This is the true reason why God created man. John confirms this very clearly by saying:

“See what love the Father has given us, so that we may be called children of God; This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know him. Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we are to be has not yet been manifested; but we know that when he manifests himself, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure ”(1 John 3: 1-3). 

Without a doubt, this surprising truth was a great source of motivation for those who tried to build a healthy relationship with God.

What kind of relationship does God want to have with us?

Now that we know the "why", we can understand "what" type of relationship God wants to have with us. As the scriptures above demonstrate - and Christ taught his disciples - God has a Father role. Almighty God wants to relate to us in the way that the physical families He created do. He is our Father and wants us to become his children, following the example of Jesus Christ, our older brother.

Unfortunately, human families have been disintegrating, separating and becoming increasingly dysfunctional as the human being rejects God. Too many parents put their children on the spot to obey the fifth commandment: "Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land that Jehovah your God gives you" (Exodus 20:12).

Families that truly exemplify the pattern God had in mind seem to be the exception. Very few currently enjoy this wonderful relationship .

The healthy relationship model

Those who have been blessed to be raised by a father and mother who love and respect one another , and love their children unconditionally, will have a good idea of ​​the kind of relationship God wants to have with us. But for those who come from a dysfunctional or abusive home, it will be a little more difficult to understand the concept of “loving father”.  

However, the almighty God explains how this relationship works through the apostle Paul: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. For you have not received the spirit of slavery to be in fear again, but you have received the spirit of adoption, by which we cry out: Abba, Father! The Spirit himself testifies to our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, also heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we suffer together with him, so that together with him we may be glorified ”(Romans 8: 14-17).   

The contrast between the concepts of "slavery" and "Abba, Father!" It helps us understand the relationship that God wants to have with us. While slavery is an oppressive relationship, the expression "Abba, Father!" it is a very personal and intimate reference to God. This is how Christ referred to the Father when he prayed in the garden before his great trial; and this is how the apostle urges us to relate to God (Mark 14:36).

love is the key

In short, the relationship that God wants to build with the human being is based on love. Without a doubt, the incredible love that God feels for us should inspire love for us. We see how the scriptures describe the love of our Creator:

"What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how can he not also give us all things with him? ” (Romans 8: 31-32).

"We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

" But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5: 8).

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

"And I will be your Father, and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:18).

How do we express our love for God? In the same way that Christ did it: keeping his commandments (John 15:10).

What will you do

Now you know what kind of relationship God wants to build with you — his greatest desire is to welcome you into his eternal family as a glorified son. He has shown him his great love by making it possible for his sins to be forgiven, opening the door to a healthy relationship with Him, the Creator God, his heavenly Father.  

What will be your response?