Many that I know have grown up fully cognizant of a Holy God, full of splendor and majesty. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We are to fear and reverence Him. And, His presence should fill us with awe. We know a plethora of verses that prove this: well-meaning people who instantly die because they touch His box; cords tied to ankles in the event one accidently gazed upon Him and died; verses fill with fear, wrath, splendor, awe, majesty, etc. But, that is not all He desires us to know and experience with Him. He wants us to be His friends. And, that is not something we understand very well. And, it creates within us a tension: Holy God….or….my best Friend? We feel a need to choose between reverence and intimacy.
In reality, there need be no tension. The tension comes as we try to figure out-with our finite, human mind-how we can see God as our Friend and not reduce Him to that of a peer. God has revealed Himself to us both as King of Kings, Lord of Lords….and….Daddy and Friend. So, why can we not balance that within our hearts? Because of one of Satan’s greatest weapons. Read Screwtape’s letter to Wormwood as he advises him to:
“…encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden.” Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis
One of Satan’s greatest tactics is to cause us to take something that is of God and take it to an extreme. But, the problem is, we don’t recognize the extremes we ourselves live in. We take a good look at those on the other extreme and decide we are quite safe where we are. And so, fear of going to the opposite extreme causes us to settle more firmly in the extreme in which we exist….which is basically the one we are most comfortable with. We also erroneously believe that moving toward a more intimate relationship means I must somehow diminish my reverence and fear of Him. We believe that this extreme toward reverence is more biblical…..and somehow…..more godly than the other extreme when in reality, neither are where God wants us to be.
Think for a moment of your closest friend. Now, suppose that friend became president of the United States. Would your friendship be able to co-exist with your respect for the president? Would you still play games with him/her? Would you still be comfortable having pizza together? Or, would your friendship cease to exist for a time because your relationship with the president supersedes your relationship with your friend? Would your friendship diminish the respect you have for the president? I have a strong suspicion that most of us would continue our friendship well after the election. We would still feel comfortable playing games, going out for pizza, and doing all the things that friends do. And, I’m quite certain that our respect would actually grow, not diminish. If we know that we can balance friendship and respect with a human being, why not with our Heavenly Father?
The answer to that lies partly in the fact that we knew the president as a friend first and president second. But, in our relationship with God, we knew Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords before we knew Him as a friend.(This isn’t necessarily so in every case, just in that of most who are raised in the church.) But, Christ died so that we could draw near to our Heavenly Father….that we could experience intimacy with Him. He sacrificed so that we could be friends with Him. We are not diminishing Him by seeking the very thing He desires us to have.
But, the answer also lies partly with fear. The Israelites camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai. They saw cloud and darkness that was God’s presence. They heard the thunderings and rumblings that was Him. And, they trembled. At that moment, they decided they would not go near Him, but allow Moses to be their spokesperson. So, throughout their journey, they were content to stand at a distance and watch Moses enter God’s Presence. They were afraid and preferred fear and reverence to intimacy.
And, it is often fear that prevents us from drawing near. We are afraid we will diminish Him; that we will not be able to find the line between reverence and intimacy. We, as humans, try so valiantly to find these invisibly thin lines that don’t even exist. We desire to find that line-with our human minds, no less-before we commit to taking the first step. In trying to find that non-existent line, we take our eyes off the very Person who can teach us to know Him. Can we not trust the God who is extending His hand in friendship to be the best one to show us how to commune with Him as King of Kings and also as friend?
We grow so comfortable living our entire lives emphasizing the reverence of God and de-emphasizing our need and desire for intimacy with Him that we fail to recognize it as an extreme. And, we fail to see that we are continuing to live out our Christian lives in an Old Testament manner. We still see Him as a God that kills people if they touch Him; a God whose presence demands fear, full of figurative thunder and lightning.
What happened to Moses when He entered that terrifying cloud, full of thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking? God descended and spoke with him as a man speaks to His friend!! God is calling you right now to an intimate relationship with Him. He calls you His friend. He desires far more than distant fear and reverence. Will you, as Moses did, ascend the mountain and enter the cloud of His presence? Will you let go of your fear and uncertainty of finding a line that doesn’t exist and take the 1st step toward a friendship with God? Can you imagine for a moment speaking with God as a man speaks to his friend?
He’s waiting….He’s calling….reach out your hand in friendship toward an awesome God!