New roads. New lessons.

Monday, June 1, 2015

The Paradox of Divine Friendship



On the Sunday quiet roads of West Linn, I shuffled through the miles, thinking, wondering, questioning and seeking God’s council on a question that kept spinning in my mind. Throughout my 16 years of attending church*, I have often heard it said that, “God does not need us. God is complete in Himself, always has been and always will be. He has perfect community with Himself through the Father, Son and Spirit.” The mystery of the Triune God is not one I fully understand, and I am content to sit in that mystery, to not know the answers. But I wonder, just because God has this perfect eternal community with Himself, does that really mean He does not need us? Is it really just a merciful choosing that He even looks our way, listens and responds? Or does He, in fact need us, long to be with us, desire a relationship with us?

One definition for “need” is to require something, in order to have success or achieve a goal. At this point, I would actually argue that in some crazy way, God does need us. He demonstrated this long ago, when:
The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:5-8)

I think God needed Noah. He needed to see that there was one who He could count on. I think seeing Noah gave hope to God’s broken heart. God’s need for Noah was further demonstrated in that He gave Noah instruction, plans for life to continue after the destruction of the wickedness of the earth. God needed Noah to listen, believe, and then show up, day after day, for +/- 100 years to construct the ark. God needed Noah to believe and obey. As Noah did this, God’s grace and glory were revealed. The same case can be stated for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all others who had great faith in the Lord and walked the days of their life with Him.

But here’s the kicker, they didn’t just need to walk with Him, He also needed to walk with them. He never left them, enjoying being with them in the ups and downs of life. That’s what being in a relationship means. It means you walk the roads of life together, listening, asking, questioning, learning, and believing. This need for relationship is in our DNA. That deep desire to know and be known infuses all we do and say throughout our days. We are made in God’s image, His Triune, perfect community image, and we long for that, because it’s what He longs for. He longs for us to know Him, to believe Him, to walk with Him. He longs to reveal His great love for the world through us.

Can He do anything He wants? Well, yes, He is all-powerful, all knowing, and ever-present. But when Jesus came to earth, He could have done many amazing and super powerful things to change the world. Instead, He came needy. As a baby, He needed to be fed, changed, loved, and nurtured. He needed to learn and grow in the Word, in the ways of God. When beginning His ministry, He rounded up 12 disciples. I have to wonder why? Couldn’t He have just saved the world on His own? He could have, but I think because community is in the core of His being, He developed a beautifully messy community that held each other accountable while living out life together. He needed them to learn and believe. He needed them to pray and trust. He needed them to understand who He was so that later they could tell the world all about Him. In this community, I’m confident they shared tears and laughter, disappointments and dreams. He needed others to share those experiences. Jesus needed friends. That is what makes Him so beautifully human. It’s also what makes Him so beautifully Divine.

He needs us, even longs for us to know that we are His beloved friends. He needed His disciples to carry out their marching orders, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:19-20).  Not only did He command them to go, He commanded them to remember He is always with them, thus maintaining the mysterious community of the Triune God and His Creation. He gives the same command to go and remember to us, too.  

While running, I asked Him, “ Can this be true God? Can it be that you actually need me?” His answer was, “Yes. I need you to seek me, know me, and show me to others. I need you to shine brightly in a dark world, bringing My hope to the hopeless, My healing to the broken, and My freedom to the captives.”  As I awaken to this truth of God’s need, His longing to be in a full relationship with me and I with Him, where both parties are held accountable to “show up” on a daily basis, I am humbled to the depths of my being. Just as I trust in Him, in a strange way, He trusts in me. He trusts I will answer His call and walk in His ways. He trusts I will grow in my love for Him and for others. He expects, even looks forward to spending time with me, walking by the lake, eating ice cream, and sitting in the quiet space of my home. He catches my tears, and mends my wounds, while giving me eyes to see that which makes Him cry and breaks His heart. He wants to be present in all areas of my life, and for me to recognize His Presence in those areas. The more aware I am of the mutuality of my relationship with God, the less likely I am to skimp on time spent with Him in prayer. He is waiting to share what’s going on in His heart and to hear what’s going on in mine. And I believe the overflow from those mutual needs being met will be revealed in the way I love and care for others; in the way I walk and the way I talk, as God’s Glory and Grace shine, causing people to rise up and sing His praise. And don’t we know how He longs to be praised, so much so if the people are silent, the stones will shout out (Luke 19:40). So by His Grace and for His Glory, I will continue to show up day after day, to meet with Him in the quiet and the noise, in the empty and the full, in the good and the bad, because that's how true relationships roll, whether earthly or Divine.  



* I am by no means an expert theologian, but I am someone who longs to be in an intimate relationship with my Lord. Because He knows that, He is patient with me as I wrestle with different teachings I have heard over the years. I appreciate your patience, too.

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