In this 4 part series, Tom opens up his heart helping us into a more loving relationship with God.
I am a firm believer in Romans 1 where it states that the natural things of the earth show the invisible things of God. If we look at our own lives when it comes to falling in love we can see that this is also the way to find God. What do we do when we are looking for a partner in our life? Many people date. What is dating? It is an experiment in love. Will I find someone that I like? Will I find someone who likes me? Is there someone out there for me?
These are big questions when you are looking. The relationship of dating is pretty shallow. You spend time chit-chatting. Trying to discover if you will make the effort to see this person again. If all goes well then you will make the attempt to try again. But for the most part, there are no intimate details shared or deep promises made and no commitments committed to.
This is where many people find themselves in the kingdom too. They take Jesus on a date. They try him out to see if there is anything there for them. Is this a relationship worth pursuing? Some time is spent, maybe in a church setting or home group, or some Christian event, and for the most part the question is still unanswered. Do I want this relationship to develop? Will you be committed to the next stage or will we be looking for another date with some other god next week?
Like I said dating is very superficial. You will not share things with someone you are not sure of or are not sure you will ever be with again. You will not open up, so the secret things of your heart will not be touched. It is the same in the kingdom. If we only call out to the Lord when we are lonely or in trouble, what do we expect to share with him. If we are not sure we want to make a commitment to him then how deep can the relationship be. Do we only want God to take away our pain, or are we willing to seek out the relationship that he wants us to have with him? This is a big question. What will happen if I let my heart go and God touches me? What will he do? Can I trust him with my heart?
If you want to find love then you have to take the risk of putting your heart out. It's sad to say that we are willing to trust a man or woman with our heart, knowing that people fail and hurt each other all the time. But when it comes to God, who never fails we're not sure he can be trusted. So if this is true, is it a risk? I don't think so. We just need to take the step to build the confidence in our own heart. Don't use him like a fire alarm on the wall that reads break glass in case of fire. You would hate it if you had people who only called you when they were in need or didn't have anyone else to hang out with. God has always wanted to have a deep meaningful relationship with us. We just have to take the step.
The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
Toward the end of this article the author makes the point that we are willing to trust a person with our hearts knowing that people fail and hurt us but when it comes to God, who never fails, we're not sure He can be trusted.. This can be somewhat explained. God has established key relationships in life to mirror His love relationship to mankind, these roles being fathers of children, husbands of wives, and pastors of churches. These roles are God ordained to mirror to the world how He loves us, how we are accepted and secure within His fold...to say to His people "you are safe here." When these roles are corrupted, for example, if a christian husband has repeated extra-marital affairs on his wife or a christian leader continually involves himself in immorality, these God mirroring roles become confused and infused with insecurity. Feelings of distrust and fear of God replace in people's hearts God's intended desire for mankind to experience trust and safety. Sadly God becomes mocked and the church at large becomes a joke to unbelievers watching the duplicity of some of it's husbands, pastors, and fathers. God's intended flock of safety becomes instead a pasture that wolves in sheep's clothing prey on. Yes, God desires a deep meaningful relationship with us, however, His will is greatly hindered by the actions of the few who corrupt their God given positions for selfish gain...which I'm sure the author of this article understands perfectly well.