Have you ever had a long-distance relationship? Whether it's a friendship, boyfriend/girlfriend, or parent, it can be hard to maintain such a strong connection, whereas if you are near it is simpler. Humans are faulty. We each have our own individual flaws that make long-distance situations a bit more difficult.
Have you ever considered the Lord being far away? Well, some might say He is, while others say He's not. Those who have a weak/suffering relationship with God may consider Him to be far away. I understand, I've been there. When we stray away from God, we can begin to think He is far, while in fact, we are the one's at fault and distant.
Think about this. The Lord did not create us to be alone or walk through life by ourselves. Yes, I know, seems cliché and you have heard it many times, but it is so true. God made us to be intimate with Him. It is difficult to achieve intimacy from a distance. That's why He is near. While you may have a distant relationship with Him (now), He, himself, is not far. The Lord constantly desires to invest in His people and convey to us the most pure and true meaning of love and sacrifice. While He wants us, we have to also want Him as well.
For those who have not dug deep into the Word quite yet, you could be thinking, "well, we don't actually see and talk to God. He's too far away for us to reach". Yes, that may seem valid, but it is evident that this is not the case. Consider John 1:14, which says, "And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." Here we can understand the full meaning of being near to God. He sent Jesus, His son, to live with us on earth. There are various other readings that go into depth of His works on earth.
Now you may be thinking, "Okay, so He lived on earth, but that was many many years ago." Yes, also true, but let me show you something even more mind boggling. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." The key concept in this verse is that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. It is important to notice that this relationship with the Lord is two-way. God is always wanting us and waiting with open arms, but it is also our decision to follow Him. God died on the cross for our sins, thus enabling all believers to one day go to heaven, not to force all people to believe in Him.
Our God is not a forceful God. If He was, nobody would want to follow Him. For example, would you invest in a friendship that feels forced or a friendship that you feel as if you need constant approval from that person? Honestly, I would not. I once heard the phrase "we should want to follow King Jesus, not Kind Jesus". What?? Okay, let me explain this. Imagine a parent that allows you to do any and everything you like. They allow you to hang out with whomever, watch any show, skip school all the time, gives you money for everything, and just simply says yes to all your wants. Sounds great right? Well, think about the contrast. There is also a parent that asks how you are, cares about the decisions you make, is reliable, gives advice, helps when you're in a crunch, teaches you lessons, and is still your friend. Now, which would you prefer? Personally, I would choose the second option because it feels good to have somebody care about you, tell you when something isn't right, and direct you in the way that is pleasing to God and helpful for your future.
God is the same way. When I say "Kind Jesus" people might think forgiving, always loving, lenient, and more. While God is forgiving and loving, He also has boundaries. That's where "King Jesus" comes in. King Jesus is powerful, all-knowing, and a law-maker as well as forgiving and loving. Worshiping a God that has commandments, promises, and cares about our lives is something we should not want to trade. While Kind Jesus sounds wonderful to some, King Jesus is so much better. God is over all, He cares for us. If anybody could go to heaven, nobody would try to follow His commandments, thus another reason why King Jesus outweighs Kind Jesus. Please don't get confused, there is only one Jesus, but if you were to choose, would you pick King or Kind?
Another question people often ask is "if there is a God, why does He let bad things happen?" While I am not an expert by any means, I have developed an answer for this over my 19 years on this earth. Backtracking a bit, if we worshiped "Kind Jesus" everything would be perfect and everything would be okay and happy, whereas "King Jesus" stays true to His Word. There is a consequence for sin and because of The Fall spoken about in Genesis, we should know that humans are imperfect, so we need a higher, all-knowing power, and that is God. In other words, if everything were perfect, we would not need a God, we would not have a need to pray, we would not care about our decisions.
It might not seem important, but it is so crucial that we understand that God is not long-distance. It can feel lonely when your friend doesn't talk to you or when you eat in the cafeteria alone, but you don't have to feel loneliness in your faith. God is always chasing you, you just have to want Him and have a desire for a deeper relationship with Him.
