Discover Lasting Bonds with God
One of the blessings of life right now for my wife Judy and me is this fresh opportunity we have to read board books, use our imaginations with Fisher-Price little people, and play delightful games of peek-a-boo with our little sweetheart. And when her mom or dad come to pick her up and have to peel her from our arms because the love between us is just that strong—well, life doesn’t get much better than that.
Have you ever stopped to realize that you have a God who loves you, and has bonded with you, and delights to spend time with you in every bit the same way? I love the Apostle Paul’s words to the early Christians in Ephesus, when he says,
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure (Ephesians 1:4-5, New Living Translation).
Because God has created our brains with “relational circuits,” we thrive whenever we interact with God and others in love. A little book on my shelf called Joyful Journey (Wilder, Kang, Loppnow) reminds us that because God is love, he’s always glad to be with us, treats us weaknesses tenderly, and actively works for our good.
It why we need to remember and write out daily reminders that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose“ (Romans 8:28 New International Version). It’s why we need to sing and rehearse songs in our minds that recall God’s goodness, or listen to music or view art that echoes divine beauty.
Just our belly buttons in the middle of our bodies remind us that we were once connected with our life-giving mothers, the cross of Jesus Christ reminds us, say the authors of Joyful Journey, that whenever we doubt God’s love or attachment to us, we can always remember that Jesus’ life given for us forever connects us to God.
Growing this relationship with God takes initiative and participation on our part. But as we interact with God, his Spirit works—reminding us of who we are and Whose we are. We’ll talk more in the weeks ahead of how we can strengthen our bond with our Creator through specific ways of interacting with him.