God Is Not The “sort-of Cute Best Friend.”
I’m re-learning this concept, because there are times when I forget it.
Sometimes I have found myself relating to God as if He were a means to an end: the cliche of getting to know someone because you are really interested in their best friend.
Sure they are sort-of cute, so it’s not horrible to be around them, in fact they are quite pleasant with charms all their own; however, you are seeking their input and advice so you can pursue someone entirely different. They are a playbook for the relational game you’re beginning. They are the wisdom you will seek at the start of this endeavor, but they themselves are not the treasure sought. I’ve never treated a human being in this way, but I find that I have had such callous regard for God, seeing Him as a means to something else, instead of the end Himself.
Sometimes I forget that God is not a path which leads to happiness, fullfllment, joy, or spiritual blessings. God is not the road which points toward comfort in times of pain, a soft, yet firm shoulder to lean on when in emotional distress, or the answers to all my deepest questions. God is not a Holy bridge to any of these things:
God is those things, and when I use God as a means to achieve those things I can never reach them. I devalue who God is just as much as someone dehumanizes the aforementioned best friend.
The Hebrews understood this, taking their cue from God Himself. He said, “I [God Was, I [God Am, I [God Will Be . . .” (Jehovah/YHWH) and left them to fill in the blanks, which they did in beautifully poetic ways.
- Jehovah-Yireh — “I, The Lord, will take care of it”
- Jehovah-Rapha“ — “I, The Lord, did and will provide healing and streght”
- Jehovah-Niss”i — “I, The Lord, was, am, and will be the Banner that you will follow”
- Jehovah-Shalom — “I, The Lord, was, am, and will be Peace”
- Jehovah-Ra-ah — “I, The Lord, was, am, and will be your Shepherd”
- Jehovah-Shammah — “I, The Lord, was, am, and will be here”
They all recognize God as the thing to be pursued, not a means to obtain it. Paul was trying to “apprehend” God, not special knowledge or substance which God could grant. All the physical, emotional, mental, spritual, social, (etc) benefits we obtain from being in relation to God properly are a distant second to Who He Is.
Apparently God is more than just “sort-of” cute, but being a mere mortal, I don’t have the adjectives to describe that sort of beauty.
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