Christians are called to do all things for the glory of God; In every work environment, we are called to write in such a way to make Him known. But how could I write for the glory of a God who I did not love?
For years as a Christian, I walked in a dry and weary land and did not know God’s heart. I imagined a frightening God who demanded endless duties from me to keep me in His favor; Michael Reeves, a theologian in the United Kingdom, compared this to a yo-yo. One moment He loved me; the next moment He was far removed from me. He loves me, He loves me not. He loves me, He loves me not.
Inevitably, I began relating to this harsh God on the unsteady and fluctuating basis of how I felt and performed. I gravely misunderstood Him and spiraled into a cold abyss of despair. I was stuck, desperately searching inside to find peace with an angry God.
My shattered and fractured view of God aggravated my pain. I could not write with any genuine peace, joy, or love in my heart for God.
But at long last – like a zealous father burning with passion, who can no longer see his child suffer – God melted the lies which entangled me. He could not contain Himself any longer, “My heart is turned over within Me; All My compassions are stirred.” (Hosea 11:8).
God used Michael Reeves to open my eyes. Michael Reeves asked his hearers to think about the idea of God. Who is He? Allow me to paraphrase his answer. He is the one in charge, the Supreme Ruler, the Creator, the All Powerful One. But does this reveal how this God’s heart is towards you? No, not at all, if anything this God seems distant and cold. So how can I really know who God is?
Michael Reeves explained that God most essentially is not the Lawgiver, not the Creator, and not the Ruler. For God existed before He gave laws, before He created, and before He ruled over anyone. No, for all of eternity God has been most essentially a glorious and tender Father, intimately loving and rejoicing in His Son through the Spirit. Before anything ever existed, Jesus said in John 17:24, “Father…You loved me before the creation of the world.” The Apostle John wrote, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:18). The Son eternally rests upon His Father’s chest. This is the God who Jesus reveals to us.
In Communion with the Triune God, John Owen referred to God the Father as, “The Fountain of Love” a glistening fountain always flooding over and pouring out streams of love, compassion, and kindness to His children. A Father who is fully pleased with me not on the basis of how I perform, but on the basis of the finished work of Christ.
With this truth, my eyes awoke to see the sun cast away the cold shadows of the night. God is not a distant and cold manager, but an eternal smiling Father who exuberantly rejoices over His children with loud singing and gladness. That is who He is in His essence. A Father.
With the golden sun shining warmly upon us, chains gone, and fear removed, we can pick up our pens with a song in our hearts and write with joy inexpressible and full of glory – all to the glory of a tender-hearted Father!
About the author
Sam Sofio
Sam Sofio is a sophomore Professional Writing and Information Design student who aspires to write for a Christian ministry. He loves conversations about the love of Christ and has a passion for those suffering with chronic illnesses.
