By: Elizabeth Haarberg

Our Many Ways to Relate to God

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.

The number of times I’ve heard that we should fear and love God and be a friend and servant to Jesus and the elusive Holy Spirit, one can only guess. So how do we decide what we are to God?

“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15 ESV

“Fear God and keep his commandments,” Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV

“‘And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:” John 16:8 ESV

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-14 ESV

Unfortunately, there is no formula that we can draw from to decide what we are to God. God is so ubiquitous that for us to decide that we are a friend or a servant or whatever to God is not enough for us to get stuck in that role. Remaining pliable in our relationship with God is critical to know what we are in the moment.

I would assume some don’t like this unknown or lack of structure, but there are so many mysteries in the spiritual realm that adding this one to the list should be no problem. Being comfortable in the questions surrounding God gives a balance in the relationship with the creator of the universe.

Yes, what a friend we have in Jesus, but Jesus also causes demons to flee. The trinity is meant to be known to the point that we are to become like God but knowing we will never reach the status of Creator. Fear, friend, daughter, lover, comfort, understanding, vessel, are a few of the words off the top of my head that I would use to describe my relationship with God.

The more I get to know God the more of Him I am aware of, which means the more I realize I will never get to the end of knowing who I am in Him or Him in me. What an amazing journey! It’s never boring.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado