What about us? Is God our first love?
That was the question I posed yesterday. It is a key question and a challenging one, does God receive the lion's share of our attention?
I know that my husband and I struggle in our marriage to ensure that we each feel cared for and listened to and it gets much worse when either of us are really busy. The less time we spend together the less connected we feel. In our everyday human relationships, when we treat our loved ones badly, when we ignore them, neglect them, or worse betray them, what happens to the relationship?
The relationship is damaged, sometimes destroyed. It takes considerable determination to keep our focus on God because there are so many distractions. How does that make God feel?
The nature of our relationship with God can be very complex. Maybe our relationship began when we were teenagers or young adults. God barged into our lives in a bold and real way and we have a conversion story with a distinctive beginning. Or maybe Jesus is just beginning to make Himself known to us after years of being “in the church, but not of the church”. We’ve all heard of “being in the world but not of the world”, well there are a lot of folks attending church who are just going through the motions, living lives that actually exclude God from the central place where He belongs: in their hearts. They participate in the church but they do not yet belong to Christ, and maybe that’s where you’ve been, but now God is speaking to you in a new way!
The beautiful thing is, no matter how your relationship with God started, no matter where it is at, at this moment, God loves you and is seeking to do something amazing in your life and in the life of the church.
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18-20 NIV
These are words spoken by God to the rebellious Israel through the prophet Isaiah, and while our lives may be a wilderness or a wasteland, but God is doing a new thing!
God made us to be in relationship with Him.
He walked with Adam & Eve in the cool of the day. Genesis 3:8
He visited Abraham in person. Genesis 18:1-2
He spoke with Moses face to face. Exodus 33:11
He whispered in Elijah’s ear. 1Kings 19:11-13
He filled His prophets with His spirit. Isaiah 48:16-17
And He is Immanuel, “God with us” Matthew 1:22-23
No matter how far we wander, He is the lovesick father waiting to run and embrace us. Luke 15:11-32
He’s our good Father and our most faithful advocate. Matthew 7:9-11 and so many more verses!
Pastor S.M Lockridge once preached a sermon that I think helps to revitalize our sense of awe over who we serve and who loves us. Click on the link below to watch a video by Igniter media. ( or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upGCMl_b0n4)