I used to think that the reason why the Bible uses our common experiences such as marriage and child-rearing to describe His relationship with us was so that we can better understand Him. But now I see that the very reason why He instituted marriage and parenthood in the first place is because they are a reflection of our relationship with Him. In other words, He didn’t look at our lives to see what would parallel His relationship with us and picked marriage and parenthood as examples, but the very design of marriage and parenthood was to help us see that they reflect the nature of relationship God desires with us.

That means when we feel betrayed or hurt in our relationship, we are to understand that that was designed to give us a better understanding of God. When we feel ecstasy or excitement in our relationship, we are to understand that that’s how God feels about us or what we can have in God. What I’m saying is that our earthly relationship is not the end goal. They are there to lead us ultimately to the relationship with God.

Listen to how personal God is:
“If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him
and becomes another man’s wife, will he return to her?
Would not that land be greatly polluted?
You have played the whore with many lovers;
and would you return to me? declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 3:1

Do you sense the hurt in his voice? It’s as if He had been dumped by his wife who left for another man. But why would He use this imagery? Because that is the reality of what’s going on. If our wives or husbands have ever left us for another lover, that would be an illustration of what we did to God. And God hurts as badly as if we had been jilted.

God is not a stoic, unfeeling, unmoved being. He is a passionate, sensitive, and is full of emotions. His feeling towards you and me is not indifference. It is one of undying passion, compassion, pity, pleasure and pain all wrapped up in one!

Do not neglect this God. Pay attention to Him as much as we do to our family or to our career or to our hobbies. Doesn’t He deserve it?

PH