He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 1 Thessalonians 5:10

The heart of God is for relationship. Whether we live or die he wants to be with us. While this is a great comfort it’s also a great challenge. Sometimes we would prefer a God who is aloof and distant.

Selwyn Hughes wrote this in Every Day With Jesus: “People like the idea of a God who keeps His distance, who provides but doesn’t intrude, who protects but never demands, who never judges and never meddles. There are thousands of nominal Christians who view God in this way. They like a God who is there but who doesn’t intrude on their daily lives, except when they are in trouble.”

We like to run our own lives. It’s a blow to our pride and our sense of competence to seek God’s guidance. We don’t really want God messing with our plans. Yet God isn’t easily put off. I read this comment by Jean Church on a desk calendar: “God is changeless. He will be unusual, He won’t strike an average anywhere. He will get out of bounds and meet us on any level with His patience and His love and His bounty.”

I know I have tried to keep God in certain areas of my life. Those areas which were acceptable and spiritual and I have tried to keep him out of other areas. It didn’t work, he gets “out of bounds.” I discovered while I might have categories marked spiritual and secular, God doesn’t.

Yet God’s interest in us is always for our best. He will continue to call us into a deeper relationship with himself. How will we respond?