I Know How You Feel
In my daily devotions, I've been going through a reading plan called, "The Active Word". Basically, it groups together devotions with common themes and gives Scripture to read along with each devotion. The first series was a brief journey through the Psalms, which I enjoyed immensely since Psalms is my favorite book of the Bible. The series I'm on now (and have been on for a while it seems) is a study on the attributes of God. It's been a refreshing and enlightening look at Who God is and what characteristics He possesses.
One of the most recent attributes I studied was God's ability to relate to us. The devotion spoke in detail of how Christ came to earth to be born of a woman, to walk the ground that we walk, breathe the air that we breathe, and face the earthly trials that we face. I nodded as I read through the devotion. I mean, I appreciated the lesson, but it seemed like kid's stuff. I felt like I wasn't really gleaning any new insight, but then a thought hit me out of the blue. Please bear with me as I try to explain.
God is omniscient, right? He knows everything there is to know. He knows our thoughts, our actions, our feelings and our attitudes. In fact, He knows us better than we know ourselves, right? Isn't that knowledge enough to make it where He can relate to us? What else does He need to know about us in order for Him to relate to us? What knowledge could He have possibly gained during His time on earth in the body of a man? He already knew everything!
Do you want to know what I think? (I hope so because I'm going to tell you anyway.) I don't think God came to earth so that He could relate to us. I think He came to earth so that we could relate to the fact that He can relate to us. In other words, it's one thing to think about God as a Heavenly being who sees all, knows all, and so on. It's quite another thing to think about God as a man who knew the aches and pains of a fleshly body, who understood what it was like to go hungry, who hobnobbed with the poor and wealthy alike. Isn't it then easier to believe God when He says, "I know what you're going through, for I've walked in your shoes"?
God didn't have to come to earth to relate to us. He could do that already. No, instead, He went the extra mile to ensure that we would have no doubts about His claims that He can relate to us. He didn't have to prove Himself to us, but He chose to do so anyway. Do we serve an awesome God or what?