The World Knows God through Us?

I am surprised at how many people, even total strangers from miles away, know me – or rather my son. It is not uncommon for me to hear “Borenyi mo tuto!” or “Noah’s dad! (Borenyi is Noah’s Gonja name), as I walk around the market, stroll through the village, or fly down the road on the moto. Many people do not know my name, so they call me this whether Noah is with me or not. Even some who do know my name refer to me as Noah’s dad. 

This got me thinking about my relationship with God. In the Old Testament, Yahweh was known as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He even referred to Himself on these terms (Exodus 3:6). He was known as the God of Elijah (2 Kings 2:14) and the God of David (2 Chron 21:12).

Jesus took it even further by saying that those who do God’s will are His siblings and that God is their Father (Matt 12:50, 6:9). The apostles knew God as Jesus’ Father (1 Pet 1:3, Eph 1:3). Then Jesus went back to His Father and said we are the lights of the world. He wants us to follow his example and point people to the Father. We are called to show God to this world. Is it getting easier for people to identify you as God’s son or daughter? Is your relationship with God so strong and His work so evident in your life that your friends and neighbors could pray to the “God of Suzy” or “Ben’s God”? And if they already do that, hopefully soon they won’t have to, because they will have developed a personal knowledge of God themselves and call Him ‘Father!”