The New Testament says clearly that we are “sons of God” (Romans 8:14; Galatians 3:26). So as sons and daughters of God, how should we live in relation to our Heavenly Father? The relationship of God the Father and the Son of God provides clues.
• Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His Work.” (John 4:34)
• “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 6:38)
• So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21)
• Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19)
• “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” (John 12:49)
As the Father’s attention was on the Son, so the Son’s attention was on the Father.
God’s Attention to Us
And, as the Father’s attention was on His own Son, so His attention is on us. God knows where we are at every moment (Psalm 139:7-12). He knows everything about us (Psalm 139:13-15). He knows every moment of our future (Psalm 139:16). He knows how we will respond in circumstances (Luke 22:34). He knows what we need—food, clothing, and the like—for our lives and has promised to provide (Matthew 6:25-34).
How can God give that kind of attention to seven-plus billion people on planet Earth? Because of who He is: infinite in His being (1 Kings 8:27) and omniscient in His knowledge (Psalm 147:5). The question is, how do we respond to God’s attentiveness? Do we respond as Jesus did to the Father, wanting to be continually in touch with the Father’s will for His life? Do we have so much confidence in God’s love and attention toward us that we rejoice in the reality of His compassionate care? How many blessings do we miss just because we aren’t paying attention—just because our attention is divided?
Our Attention to God
Several years ago, I learned about a very devoted father in China by the name of Yu Xukang. He raised his twelve-year-old disabled son, Xiao Qiang, as a single parent since Xiao was three years old. Because of his son’s deformities—the local school in the family’s rural area would not accept Xiao as a student. But another school, four and a half miles away, accepted him. No transportation was available, so the father built a basket and harness that he wore like a backpack. The boy, small for his age, rode in the basket on his father’s back all the way to school.
The father would rise at 5:00 a.m., make his son’s lunch and their breakfast, and then carry his son on his back to school: a nine-mile round trip over rough terrain in the morning, then another nine-mile round trip in the afternoon to bring his son home. In between his nine-mile hikes to and from his son’s school, the father would work at his job during the day.[1]
See if you think Yu’s undivided attention to his son—carrying him to school and back—sounds like this: “And in the wilderness . . . you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place” (Deuteronomy 1:31).
Yu Xukang carried his son like God carried Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. The lesson is this: We should give God our undivided attention the same way He gives us His. Every moment of the day, God is focused on you and me. Whenever we desire His fellowship, His comfort, or need to ask Him for “mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16), He is there. Give Him your undivided attention.
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David Jeremiah is the founder and host of Turning Point for God and the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church. For more information about Dr. Jeremiah, visit www.DavidJeremiah.org
