By: Jer
Every day, I get the opportunity to journey with students as they work through their struggles, whatever they may be. Sometimes it’s mental health, other times it’s school, but most of the time, it’s family. I regularly hear students share about how difficult it is with their families, things that go way beyond the regular parent-teen conflict. I hear stories of physical and emotional abuse. I hear stories of feeling unsafe and unloved as though they are their parents’ property. I listen to the trauma that some of these students experience and wonder how they will ever make it out.
Yet no matter how bad it is, I was reminded in one of my conversations this week of the enduring longing and desire for relationship with that individual. There’s a hope that one day things will change because they want to have a good relationship with them. So much of their hurt, their pain and anger comes from them grieving the loss of what that relationship could, and possibly should, be. As I had a chance to reflect some more, I realized: isn’t that exactly how God reveals Himself to us? It’s almost like a modern day story of Hosea, but it’s so real when I see this longing for relationship in my students who are so broken by their relationships.
My students helped me see God in a way that made His longing for us more tangible. See, I’ve been blessed with fairly positive relationships. Although the relationships I have still require work and they aren’t always the easiest, I have a huge amount of choice in who I relate with. If it’s too draining, if it’s too negative, I simply choose not to spend time with them. I can easily say I’ve had enough.
God doesn’t do that. He could easily be satisfied with his relationship within the Trinity, maybe with even all the really good “Christians,” but He longs for relationship with all of us. Isn’t that what it really means for us to be led by Him? To not be satisfied by the positive relationships that I have, but to develop the same longing and desire for relationships for everyone around me?
It also challenges me on a personal level. To know there are times when I am the source of His pain, hurt and anger. When I do or say things that treat God as though He is my property, as though He is unloved. My only conclusion is this: His grace is always more than I expect. It’s the only way that His longing for relationship is met when He gives grace to us all.