In Relationship to Christ

I’m reading, well a dozen books right now, but the one I finished tonight is Every Young Woman’s Battle by Shannon Ethridge & Stephen Arterburn. (I read Every Young Man’s Battle a couple days ago… if you are raising teenage boys OR girls that particular book is an incredibly eye-opening & edifying read.)


Anyway, I want to share an excerpt from Every Young Woman's Battle that the author quoted from lecturer Jack Hill who explains that there are six progressive levels of relationship with God, as explained by these Biblical metaphors found in Scripture:

Potter/Clay
Shepherd/Sheep
Master/Servant
Friend/Friend
Father/Daughter
Groom/Bride

The author says, “I believe God gave us these metaphors to increase our understanding of His complex personality and to help us better comprehend the depth of His perfect love for us. These metaphors illustrate the maturing of our love relationship with God. Just as children develop physically until they reach adulthood, believers in Christ develop spiritually in stages as we walk down the road to spiritual maturity.”

POTTER/CLAY
When we first come to Christ, our spiritual life has little shape or form. We submit ourselves to Jesus Christ as our Savior and ask God to begin shaping us into what He wants us to be.

“We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8, Jeremiah 18:4-6

As a piece of clay, we can allow the Potter to mold us, but we cannot express our love back to Him. When we comply and feel God using us, we feel good about ourselves. When we mess up or don’t have a clear sense of purpose, we feel distant from God. We often withdraw because we believe He is angry with us due to our poor performance.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” This affirms that it is important for us to submit to God and allow Him to shape our lives into something that brings Him honor. However, He doesn’t want our relationship to stop there. He wants it to become deeper and more intimate.

SHEPHERD/SHEEP
It may not be flattering to be compared to a sheep, but this metaphor illustrates how well God takes care of His people, just as a shepherd carefully tends his flock. God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel:

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered… They will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. (34:11-12, 14-15; also see parable of the Good Shepherd in John 10:1-18)

Although sheep know the shepherd’s voice and will follow him, they have no idea what the heart of the shepherd feels for them. Sheep can’t share the shepherd’s dreams and hopes. They are merely concerned with their daily need for food and water. While it is important for us to follow and trust God as our Caretaker and Provider as a sheep follows a shepherd, God longs for us to have a more personal relationship with Him.

MASTER/SERVANT
While sheep stay outside, servants at least live in the same household as the master and talk with him, as long as it is business. The servant enjoys a more intimate relationship. The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:11-27) refer to this level of relationship. However, servants know little of what is happening with the master, other than what they are directly involved with. A servant’s value is derived from how well she can complete the master’s will. While it is important for us to serve God wholeheartedly and do His will, God still longs to have an even greater level of intimacy than this.

FRIEND/FRIEND
A servant’s relationship with her master rests on business and performance, while love and mutual concern form the basis of a friend’s relationship with a friend. Jesus spoke about this deeper level of intimacy that He shared with His disciples when He said, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s [personal] business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Jesus is saying, “I value you not just because of how you serve me, but because you share my heart.” A friend’s value lies not so much in what she does, but in who she is as a personal confidant.

God wants to be our friend, and He wants us to be His friends. We can experience this friendship level of intimacy. As James 2:23 tells us, “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.” Also, Proverbs 22:11 says, “[She] who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for [her] friend.”

Yet even as close as two friends can be, blood runs thicker than water.

FATHER/DAUGHTER
As we realize and accept the truth that we are not just God’s lump of clay, sheep, servant, or even friend, but also God’s very own child, we can experience tremendous healing from childhood wounds and disappointments. We can allow God to be the Father or Mother (He possesses the good qualities of both genders) that we so needed or wanted. We can be free from the burden of trying to perform or produce for Him when we understand that He loves us not for what we do but because we are His daughters. As wonderful and healing as a father/daughter relationship is, the groom/bride relationship promises the most intimate connection of all.

GROOM/BRIDE
Once a woman becomes a bride, the focus of her life and priorities change, and all other people and priorities pale in comparison to her primary love relationship. Again, this metaphor illustrates a much deeper truth—God desires for us to love Him passionately, to find it delightful to simply be in His presence, and to know Him personally both publicly and privately. He longs for our focus and priorities to become aligned with His.

God has always longed for this kind of relationship with His chosen people. He said through the prophet Hosea, “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord” (2:19-20).

God extends to us an eternal commitment of love, a love so deep, so wide, and so great that we cannot possibly fully understand it. This gift should inspire us to reciprocate with as equal a gift of love as is humanly possible. What started out as an engagement relationship between God and His own in the Garden of Eden will come to fullness at the wedding supper of the Lamb when Jesus Christ returns to claim His bride, the church.

So how can you cultivate a bridal love for Jesus and enjoy this intimate relationship that He longs to have with you? By falling in love with Him and attempting to pursue Him as passionately as He has been pursuing you all along.

From Chapter 25: FALLING IN LOVE WITH JESUS

Every Young Woman’s Battle

pp. 210-214

When you read the progressive of levels of intimacy, can you relate with any one over the other? I just love how God is so specific in His Word. And this was something I needed to read tonight... it explains so much about living a life in Christ and how believers can all be at different levels of intimacy, but in relationship to the same One. What are your thoughts?