This thought has been on my heart before but it is strongly on my heart tonight so I feel to share it…

Have we ever thought about what it is like for God to give humanity so much freedom?

I mean, God is the ultimate parent, operating primarily as a Father but also at times scripture tells us operating as a mother…

Imagine the daily dealings we have in our family homes, our interactions with our children, what we allow them the freedom to do, the boundaries we may or may not set, how much freedom we choose to give our children…

Now God has a guidebook, the scriptures, where He’s recorded a pretty clear path as to the heart we would want to exhibit if we were to enjoy life on His planet and with the other planet dwellers who He has created to cohabit with us during our time on earth…

The reality is that not many of us follow that heart, revealed in that guidebook and so many times during every day God looks on in sadness because we’re missing out on the happiness which He wants for us all…

But does He step in and force or coerce us to follow His Heart, the way He lives from His Heart, in our everyday lives?

Based on my observations during the first forty-seven years of my life, I’d say, in summary, not very often and especially not over the last nearly two thousand years since Jesus rose from the dead…

He seems, in my observation, to allow all sorts of things which many of us would be very uneasy about allowing our children to practice in our homes (the earth is His ‘home’, He is the Ruler of the kings of the earth) with no obvious interference or consequence…

If we look at all the things which are done and said on earth in opposition to His revealed Heart and especially the things which are spoken against Him by His children (as in some ways whether we believe in Him or follow Him or not, by His own definition, as He is our Creator, we are all in that sense His children)…

I marvel at how ‘un-controlling’ and ‘permission giving’ God is…

I truly do and am endeavouring to model my life, with the way I treat myself, the way I treat my wife, the way I treat my children, the way I treat my grandchildren, the way I treat people who work with me and in all other social interactions (which aren’t many for me to be fair), after this ‘un-controlling’ and ‘permission giving’ God…

It’s not like He’s disinterested, it’s just that He’s not smothering…

He gives a lot of freedom for us to do the exact opposite of what He’s said will make us the most fulfilled, He doesn’t seem worried when we ridicule Him or when we put Him down, He seems to be so ‘even’ and able to see things in terms of what would benefit us the most…

Yes, I know that He’s sad and yes I know that there’s an ‘accounting’ coming after we die but His attitude is one which I like and am endeavouring to emulate…

He’s put His truth out there…

He wants us to seek it out…

Anyone who does seek it out, He’ll start talking to and guiding them along the path to find Him and His way of living…

But He’s not afraid, He’s not swayed by our rejection of Him…

He doesn’t change depending on how we treat Him…

He is still Himself…

I AM WHO I AM…

He’s not falling over Himself to make sure at every step we know that we should be following Him, He’s not ‘needy’ like that…

He wants us to be ‘with Him’ but if we choose not to be, He’s OK, He’s sad but He’s not going to change who He is because we reject Him, His Purpose will continue, He honours our rejection of Him…

He is not desperate, He lets us go, it pains Him but He accepts our choice…

In any sphere of our lives, I believe we take ourselves too seriously when we believe that we hold, for example, our children’s futures in our hands and we get so overwrought trying to make sure we spell out to them all the pitfalls and things which may go wrong…

So much emotional energy is expended by ourselves as we ‘micro-manage’ every relationship in our lives, trying to ensure that it all works out perfectly…

God desires the best for us but His way is that we choose to seek Him out – to engage trustingly with him in open dialogue to find Him, He doesn’t ‘overshare’ – He’s shared enough, He’s demonstrated enough – through Jesus – He’s given us enough witnesses – and even the people who are getting to know Him who we come across – to be able to start that relationship – an open ‘back and forth’ with Him – if we so desire…

But He doesn’t force Himself or His way on us – He is (as I believe I’ve said before) the Perfect Gentleman… 🙂

Love You Lord… 🙂