How Do You See God?

Recently I had a talk with a friend and the conversation somehow strayed to our perceptions of God, and what that says about our relationship with him. She mentioned a question that another mutual friend of ours had asked her, one that had got her thinking. The question was, "How old is your Jesus?" My friend used this as a starting point to examine how she sees Jesus and the Trinity. For her, she could separate Jesus and the other parts of a trinity to an age that served as a metaphor for how she saw the Lord. 

I found this concept interesting, but when she asked me to answer, I couldn't. However, after I had thought about it, although I couldn't pinpoint it to an age, I could find things that described how I feel about the Trinity, and I wanted to share that with you.

Maybe this will get you thinking about where you are in your relationship with God the Father, Jesus, and his Holy Spirit. And maybe, you will be inspired by my walk and my authenticity. Either way, I hope you can find something here that speaks to you:

The Father

When I think of God the Father, I think of a majestic historical cathedral. One where you walk inside, and immediately you are awestruck by the vastness of the space, the beauty of the artwork and stained glass inside, and the mystery of what all might have taken place there. Yet for all its awe-inspiring mystery, it is still a real place, you can see it and interact with it, but it is also so much bigger than you, and somewhat intimidating, and you’re afraid to interact with it sometimes. I see God the father that way. Vast, awe-inspiring, striking holy fear into me, but also something that I can see and comprehend in its own way.

The Son

When I think of Jesus, I feel like he is my long-distance boyfriend (as cheesy as that sounds). Like, this boyfriend and I were close. We used to spend all this time together, and we knew a lot about each other, but now he’s distant and it feels like there’s nothing I can do about it. And although I am trying to keep connected with him, and we still talk sometimes, it’s just not the same as it once was, and everything feels different now. And I also kind of feel like he’s ignoring my problems in favor of interacting with other people instead. Like, I see him interacting with other people from afar and I’m happy he’s helping other people, but I feel like he’s ignoring me (if we continue with this allegory, it’s like I’m watching his social media page, seeing his updates about hanging out with other people, and I’m not jealous, but I do feel slightly upset that I don’t get that same closeness with him as others do).

The Holy Spirit

When I think of the Holy Spirit, I think of the sea. At surface level (no pun intended) I know what the sea is. I’ve been there, I’ve seen it, I’ve interacted with it. However, I know nothing about the intricacies of underneath the sea, and it is still a great mystery to me. I also don’t interact with the sea often. I know it’s there, but I often forget about it. The Holy Spirit is the same way to me. I feel him at work in my life sometimes, I know logically what he is and what he does, but I often forget about him. It’s something I need to work on being more conscious of, I think.

So how about you? How old is your Jesus? What metaphor best describes where you are at with the Lord at this moment? I'd love to hear your answers, and learn more about your hearts. Blessings my friends!