Lately, my posts have focused on our unique nature as the New Creation. Plus, what does that mean before Jesus returns? What special/unique traits do we have because of being the New Creation? None of what you might imagine when we have our resurrected bodies. But Jesus has given us all authority and every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly realms.

“Ephesians 13:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

Giftings and callings are not the point during this time. It is building your relationship with Jesus. After that, you will find the gifts and call on your life flow from your intimacy with Jesus. I can’t prove this, but that intimate relationship allows Him to trust us with the gifts. Don’t take that wrong; I know of many times God sovereignly produced miracles for unbelievers. But, if you are desperately trying to be a prophet, healer, or any of the other exciting gifts, start by pursuing Jesus sacrificially and relentlessly.

My relationship with Jesus is everything to me. He is the greatest gift we can have now. He is always on my mind. I might have a running conversation with Him (mostly one-sided) while I sit in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. Or, I silently praise Him in my mind and pray for the people in the waiting room or the doctor I am there to see.

I’ve found myself exploring why I have written what I have lately. I have exhorted the reader to develop a close relationship with Jesus. To seek Him relentlessly and sacrifice time to be alone with Him. To press in until you hear His voice.

What I discovered is that my confidence in Him has removed any doubt whether He will come through in tight spots. There is a peace that comes when you lose the doubt. And your relationship with Him grows, which is part of how I feel part of a family.

This is extremely important to me, as my natural father divorced my mother and effectively pushed me, my brother, and my sister out of his life. He and his new wife made it clear they didn’t want us in their lives. And, besides showing up at important moments, he was completely absent from my life.

My relationship with God is not just something to be studied in the Bible, although that helps. I need Him every day. He’s my Father, and I am His child. I want you to understand, I am talking about the kind of relationship you would have with your children.

Your relationship with your children is not a part-time job. They depend on you to be there 24/7. Our Father wants that same relationship with us. I’m 72 now, and I became a believer when I was 26. It took me a long time to grasp this concept. God the Father was there during the part of my life where I only saw Him as God, not as a Father figure.

It wasn’t until my prayer life blossomed that I realized He had been Fathering me all these years. It was only a week ago that the reality of who I am to Him sank in. I am His child! The Creator of All Things adopted me.

These aren’t just figurative concepts. This relationship is real; I can count on Him to be there 24/7.

I am so in love with my Heavenly Father, my Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. I suppose that is a bit radical to some of you. Maybe you weren’t hungry for a Father. Or a new believer who can’t grasp the idea of the Heavenly reality of being a child of God here on Earth as it is in Heaven. But these thoughts are not something I made up. Those relationships are our destiny. They are a consistent theme throughout the Bible. A quick Google search yielded 17 verses that highlight God’s role as our Father.

Perhaps, during this age, we can’t experience the New Heaven and New Earth or see Jesus face-to-face. But the totality of that relationship still, in my opinion, should supercharge our prayer lives and relationship with God.

I can’t emphasize how important and joyful it is to experience God’s presence as a Father. Or, to know Jesus’s voice. The greatest peace you will ever know is when God touches you or speaks to you. 

Seek His Face as if you are searching as a lost child. Cultivate that relentless hunger to see His face. It will be the best thing you will ever do.

Romans 8:15 “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'”