Last weekend was The Father's Heart conference at Kings Arms church Bedford, and for anyone who was there you'll know just how incredible it was; learning the extent of the Father's love for us, realising our identity with God and experiencing new intimacy with Him...
One of the biggest things I got out of the conference was something which is probably blindingly obvious but that I'd never fully given thought to before; Jesus is our brother. Just as much as He is our Lord, our Saviour, our Healer and our King, He is also our brother. We are part of a family with God as our Father and Jesus as our brother, and both of them love and care for us more than any worldly father or brother could. Imagine that! Someone who loves us more than our own parents. Incredible.
Then I realised that because Jesus is our brother, He loves spending time with us. I was sat on the bus today with an empty seat next to me and realised that it wasn't actually an empty seat. Jesus was right there listening to me reflect on my week, listening to my worries, my excitement, my fears and my emotions and caring for me in a way that was perfect for me at that time. He loves spending time with us and having us talk to Him. I'm so excited to hang out with Him this week, learn more of His character and develop my brotherly relationship with Him. And yeah it may sound a bit cringey saying 'Jesus is my brother and He loves spending time with me', but it's the truth; He relishes in our company and so wants us to talk to Him - even if it's just sharing what we've done with our day.
My perspective has changed on my relationship with Him - I now look at Him as my brother and my friend, more than as a high authority that I shouldn't bother with my little problems. And it's actually so much fun! It's like I've embarked on an entirely new stage in my relationship with Him. It's so much fun, I can't help but encourage anyone reading to give a listen to The Father's Heart preaches when they come out (if you don't know where to look for them, there's an email address on the homepage you can contact me on) so that your view of your relationship with Him can change, and so that you can begin to experience the excitement of spending time with Him in a whole new way.