I have heard all my life that Jesus (God and the Holy Spirit for that matter), wants to have a personal relationship with us. What exactly does that mean, both now and in eternity? I think I understand somewhat the idea of what kind of personal relationship He wants with us in the here and now. However, any verses you can lead me to that pinpoint what that relationship should be would be helpful.
I really do desire a personal relationship with Him. I want to give him the respect, praise, and honor that he deserves. Herein lies the problem, I also want to be able to treat him as my best friend too. I just don’t know exactly how to do that.
I think the kind of relationship the Bible describes is one of a close family. John 1:12-13 says those who believe in Jesus have the right to become children of God. Romans 8:15-17 confirms that we have the spirit of sonship and are permitted to call God by the intimate Hebrew term “Abba”, which is similar to the English, “Dad”. It also says we are both God’s children and His heirs, co-heirs with Christ. Romans 8:29 says we’re being conformed to the likeness of God’s son so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. Galatians 4:4-7 confirms this, adding that God has actually adopted us into His family, giving us the full rights of sons, including the right of inheritance.
From all this we can conclude that God wants us to think of Him as we would think of a loving father who delights in giving good gifts to His children (Matt. 7:11), and Jesus wants us to think of Him as we would think of an older brother we look up to and want to emulate.
I think it’s appropriate to give the Lord the respect, praise and honor He deserves. After all, it was He who made it possible for us to become part of the family. But that shouldn’t prevent us from having a close personal relationship, as members of the same family often have.