Perspective Changes Everything!

As Christians, we never debate about “who” to worship or follow. We don’t wake up in the morning asking ourselves, “Should I follow Buddha or Jesus today?” The answer is already resolved. But have you ever thought about how you worship Jesus?

My life verse (Hosea 2:16) sheds some light on this thought: “In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’” (NIV)

Do you worship and follow Christ from the position of a spouse or a lowly servant? Jesus isn’t looking for good slaves. He wants whole-hearted lovers.

“How” is just as important as “who.” Some of us are stuck in our minds, thinking of ourselves as only servants. Being a servant is a great starting point, but it’s not where we are supposed to stay. If you are married, would you want your spouse to treat you as his or her servant? Or even just as a casual friend? Perspective changes everything!

The Way We Love God

One of the most amazing things I have seen in the past ten to fifteen years is the restoration of the understanding of God as our Father. This restoration has changed lives dramatically. Growing up in church, God was more of a big, old guy who was running the universe – too busy to care about little ole me. As I grew, I became more aware of the fact that God was my heavenly Father. The term “Abba” started to impact me; God was really “Daddy.” This was life-changing to me.

But as I grew even more, the Lord started to show me that there was more to learn about His nature and character – about His affection and love for me. There was more. And this was expressed through Jesus, who is called our Bridegroom – our Husband. That’s radical. (For a better discussion on this progression, please read my book.)

One of the benefits of this realization is that it changes the way we love God. This understanding gives us confidence to draw closer to Him in a more intimate way. Let me illustrate.

How you love a parent is different than how you love a spouse. In a healthy environment, we experience intimacy differently with a spouse than with a parent. Our feelings and emotions are different. You express and reveal things differently. You can abandon yourself more with a lover, and that is what Christ wants – total abandonment!

The marriage bond is not only different, but also stronger than the bond between a parent and a child. Two are to become one (Eph. 5:31-32). But don’t worry: this bond doesn’t take away from the parental bond, but strengthens it. Our Father in heaven is excited for us to know His Son in a deeper and more intimate way.

The challenge is this: Can you go deeper in your worship, prayer time, giving and service as the Bride of Christ?

Lifting God Up Too High?

Can we lift God up too high in our minds and hearts? My answer is “kind of.” Let me explain. Technically, we are seated with Christ in heavenly places, so by lifting God up higher, we, in effect, are lifting ourselves up as well. And what feels great about lifting Him up in worship from this position is that we can sense ourselves soaring above our problems.

But what I sense is this: without realizing it, we tend to see God way up high and ourselves way down low. He becomes unreachable. Sometimes when we lift God up “high” in worship, it can be easy to become somewhat disconnected from God. He becomes way too “holy” and supreme (which He is, of course), but we view ourselves as lowly; we are way too sinful and unworthy to interact with Him, forgetting that we are clean and holy through Christ.

Without realizing it, we put God up out of reach, separating ourselves from Him in our minds and hearts, when in reality, He wants to be intimate with us. God wants to be “face to face” with us, like He was with Moses (Exodus 33:11); He wants to be our friend, like He was with Abraham (2 Chron. 20:7).

We need to remember that His goal is always relationship. We were created for love. When we lose sight of this, we lose sight of Him. So please, don’t lift God up too “high”!