"And thus I saw that God rejoiceth that He is our Father, and God rejoiceth that He is our Mother, and God rejoiceth that He is our Very Spouse and our soul is His loved Wife. And Christ rejoiceth that He is our Brother, and Jesus rejoiceth that He is our Saviour. These are five high joys, as I understand, in which He willeth that we enjoy; Him praising, Him thanking, Him loving, Him endlessly blessing."
Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)
All the best relationships we have here on earth with loved ones are like a faint picture or echo of the way God is with us. In fact, He is the best example of and original prototype for those human roles and relationships, the One they are designed after. And whatever way that helps us to feel loved by God and close to God, safe with God and cared for by God, is the right way for us to see and relate to God. We may have a wonderful father here on earth, so it is easy for us to relate to God as Father, seeing Him as our Strong Protector, Caring Provider and Ultimate Source. Perhaps we may relate better to God as Mother, for God is the Best Mother, tender-hearted, gentle, kind and warm. We can relate to God as Spouse, the One with Perfect Love for us, His most beloved wife. Or we can relate to God as Brother, a Best Friend and confidante, an understanding listener who loves just being with us. And then we can relate to God as Savior, the One who gave up everything to rescue those that were in such desperate need, who never turned his back on the broken or hurting.
God epitomizes all those roles and comes to us, expresses love to us, in the love of the best fathers, mothers, lovers and friends we have here on earth. And God is the very best Father, Mother, Spouse, Brother and Savior to us that we could ever imagine, the Family we have always longed for that accepts us just as we are, the Friend that never lets us down, the One who saves us no matter how many times we fall. God has so many ways to say to us, "I love you," so that we can relate to the way that helps us the most. Our God is truly everything we need a God to be!
"How dearly God loves us."
Romans 5:5 (NLT)
A Prayer: You are my Perfect Father, my Perfect Mother, my Perfect Lover, my Perfect Brother, my Perfect Savior!