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A Relational God

Posted by gilesandalisonemery on

Our God is relational. He is revealing even more of that aspect of Himself as we speak with others about our future ministry with CMF/ Missions of Hope (MoHI) in Mathare Valley slum. We are also realizing how deficient we are at relationship in light of how perfect He is at it.

It is one thing to acknowledge that this is God’s story, not ours. It is another thing entirely to experience that truth in sharing the story with others. As we share, we discover that God modifies the message to meet the listener at the exact point in her journey with Him. Although key principles may surface in every conversation, God still chooses how the story should be conveyed to the particular individual or group with whom we are speaking. With one person, God may highlight the transformative effect of community health evangelism in holistically meeting physical and spiritual needs in individual lives and communities. In a different conversation, the concepts of empowerment and breaking the stronghold of generational poverty through education, job skills training, and micro-finance loans may take center stage. Even as we relay our own personal journeys and how God has brought us to this pathway in our walk with Him, different aspects of our stories are emphasized, depending upon the receiver.

This shouldn’t surprise us, and yet it is still astounding. God is spectacularly intentional in His relationship with each one of us. He knows us intimately and desires to tell His story in whatever manner will best reveal His heart to us personally. And sometimes He just shows off, if it will draw us closer into relationship with Him. 

Six months ago, when we were in Nairobi National Park, God presented us with a lion.  I say “presented” because we had been chasing after elusive lions for several hours at that point.  Another driver would radio our driver, and he would literally “put the pedal to the metal” (as we prayed silently in the back seat for our safety!) in search of the lion or group of lions allegedly spotted.  But when we finally saw this lone lion, the display clearly was intended only for us.  He was sitting majestically on a hill overlooking a small valley.  This was not just any lion– he was a black-maned lion.  I’ve read that black-maned lions are truly the king of the pride, distinctive and revered among their lion brethren and more desirable to female lions.  He was our Aslan.

In that moment, God was saying to us, “You are my children, and I desire to delight your hearts.”  Aside from the blatant symbolism of King and Sovereign, He wanted to show us an aspect of His heart– His desire to lavishly love us.

We pray that as we minister to others by sharing God’s story of hope that He is authoring and telling in the slums of Nairobi, they will see their place in the story.  It is a tale of a Kingdom come and one that is coming.  Promised to us and waiting for us to receive it. It is Love.

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