Friday, August 9, 2024

God of the Third Party

Scripture: And you, Solomon my son, get to know well your father’s God; serve him with a whole heart and eager mind, for God examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek him, he’ll make sure you find him, but if you abandon him, he’ll leave you for good. 1 Chronicles 28:9

Observation: David's final act is to proclaim the building of the temple, commission Solomon for that work, and take up a collection to fund the project. Throughout these two chapters, the Lord is often referred to in a specific way. He is called ... the God of someone else. In this verse, speaking to Solomon, David calls him the God of your father. He previously called him "your [Solomon's] God". In a few verses he declares God as "my God" both when addressing Solomon and then when addressing the public. After taking the collection, he declares the treasures have been given to "our God", and the people are to continue to bless "your God". The narrator emphasizes that the people did in fact bless "the God of their ancestors".

In some cases, this can seem like a personal connection ... God in fact belongs to individuals, just as one would refer to their own parent or friend. In other cases, it feels a little more like it's instructional, that David is telling people they should have that familial connection if they don't already.

Application: I use the word "my" when referring to the Lord and to Jesus. Jesus is my Lord and savior. God is my abba father, my protector, my provider, my rock and foundation. However ... I need to examine my heart, because I don't feel that close to him. And that's a big problem.

I do want a personal relationship with God. However, my guilt and shame over continued sins - anger, swearing, lust, hate, sorrow, distrust - results in me pushing him away. He doesn't leave me, but I withdraw from him, like an angsty teen who doesn't want to be hugged.

I don't want God to be the God of others ... of third parties. I want him to be my God, declared so by me, because I own the relationship and desire to move toward him at all times.

Prayer: Lord, my Lord and my God, I do love you. Please forgive me for my hard and foolish heart, and thank you for your patience with me. You know I am bad at all relationships. May I find my way to improving ours. Amen.

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