We often see God as like our human Father

Bek asked me to start a study about this and how although we tend to view God the same way we do our human father (or mother) that He is far superior to our human parents, even if they happened to be the best, most godly Christian parents we could imagine. None of us had perfect parents and many had parents who physically, emotionally or sexually abused them. So for all of us, when we initially meet God when we're saved, we have a rather distorted idea of who He is and it can be very difficult for us to learn to trust Him because of that.

I think this is something that we can all relate to in some way. My parents were not Christians at all and my mom divorced my dad when I was about 8 and married someone else. My step father also wasn't Christian and he was an alcoholic. Let's just say that this left me with a very distorted view of men and fathers in general.

When I was saved, I realized and told the Lord that I knew that my view of Him was wrong and that it was part of the reason I didn't trust Him. When you've been betrayed or hurt by your earthly parents, it's hard to trust anyone much less someone else claiming to be a parent to you. I asked Him to help me to trust Him and I think that's really the first step each of us has to take. First to realize we have that problem and then to take that problem to the Lord and ask His help in overcoming it.

One of the things I realized as time went by and the Lord taught me more about Himself, was that just like with a human relationship, the more I got to know the Lord, the more I was able to trust Him. So the answer to this problem is both to take it to the Lord and ask His help, and then to determine to really get to know God for Himself. (not for what other people say about Him--but from what He Himself says)

God is very aware that we have this problem and He wants nothing so much as to help us overcome it. He actually addresses this problem here:

Isaiah 49:15-16 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

You see, He is saying in that passage that while most mothers are good and would never forget their child, that there are some parents who do not have any regard for their children. He assures us in this passage that even though there are some parents like this, that He is not like that and He will never ever forget us.

When you meet someone for the first time, you don't sit down with them and pour out your life story and tell them all your secrets and concerns. No, that would be pretty reckless! Instead you chat about inconsequential things like the weather, likes and dislikes, etc. The next time you see them is more of the same. Each time you meet that person you learn a little more about them and in the process you determine whether or not that person is someone you can trust.

When we are saved, we are brought into a close personal relationship with God.

Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

But for us it's more like we're "introduced" to Him. We are in the relationship with Him now, but we don't yet know Him. We might know "about" Him, but we don't really know Him yet. What most of us simply don't realize is that our relationship with the Lord requires work, just like any human relationship we have, be it our marriage or a friendship.

If we do not make the effort to get to know God by reading, studying and reflecting on His Word, with His help, then our relationship with Him will always remain shallow and unproductive. We will continue to know more "about" Him then to know Him personally.

Do you understand the difference in that statement? If I tell you that I have a daughter who's name is Michelle and tell you all about her, you might become quite knowledgeable about her and her life. Of course you'll be assuming that what I'm telling you about her is true, and it might not be. Since you don't know her personally though, you won't have any way of discovering if what I'm telling you is true or not. This is what someone with a shallow relationship with God is like. They may know a lot about Him from what other people, including their pastor has said, or through books they've read, etc. but they don't know Him so they have no way of knowing if anything they think they "know" is true or not. There is little to no growth involved in this kind of relationship.

This is not the kind of relationship Jesus died for. He died so that He and the Father could be in close communion with us. He wants us to know Him personally, not just know about Him from what others have said or through books you've read.

Just as we have to take time to spend with our physical friends to get to know them, so we also have to take time to spend with God and His Word to get to know Him. I'm afraid there simply is no shortcut for this.

I hope this gives everyone a beginning so that we can talk about other parts of this from here. Let me know what you think and where you'd like to go with this next ok?

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