Our relationship with God can never be equal, but it can be mutual. According to the dictionary, mutual means “directed by each toward the other.” God in His mercy “directed” His love toward us even while we were still sinners. In a sense, it’s an unreasonable, illogical love. What unlikely objects we are of the love of God – of this vast, immeasurable, unfailing, eternal love that God directs toward us. We can never match that love. Our love is fickle and wavering – not at all what this glorious God deserves – but we can still “direct” our love, such as it is, back to Him. It’s a love that, while it will never be equal, can be gloriously mutual.
I was surprised to find mutual also defined as “characterized by intimacy. “ Our relationship with Christ should be “characterized by intimacy” – an intimacy born out of love, and nurtured in the awesome presence of the Almighty. God reveals His longing for this intimacy in the poignant question found in Jeremiah 30:21. He asks: “for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?” He is the initiator of this intimacy, and promises that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. What a beautiful and irresistible offer!
We can never come close to having an equal relationship with God, but we can have one that is mutual – directed each toward the other, and characterized by intimacy. What a blessed privilege!
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