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This is a very hypothetical essay concerning the uncertain nature of God’s relationship to humans. In this paper, I describe my idea of what it means be in a relationship with a loving “God”. I believe that all relationships require the same essential elements in its foundation to be successful. Let’s call this my confession and testimony. This paper also reveals lessons that I have learned from my life experiences. If I were asked to teach God about what it means to love another being, I would explain it this way. I love my dogs. They love me, as well. I have no doubt about that. My dogs will follow me wherever I go. They even follow me into the bathroom. That shows (me) my pets have a deep attachment and commitment to me. However, pets are domesticated animals. My understanding is that canines and felines became domesticated about 30,000 years ago. In my opinion that should never have happened. All living beings are meant to have their sovereignty. I enjoy the company of my pets. They bring joy to my life. I also realize that I am responsible for their well-being. This is an important point. I know that if I were to drop my pets off in the middle of Manhattan and say “I love you. I am setting you free.” they would most certainly die. They do not have the skills to survive on their own. The same is true of children. People do abandon, abuse, and neglect their children like this. It is irresponsible. This act is not the same as the cherished saying “If you love them – set them free.” The principle I just mentioned can also be applied to the relationship between humans and God. Humans love God. They do not want to be “set free.” If God were to say to a human, “You are now awakened to the illusion of reality. I am setting you free.” I suppose that could be considered a noble act. However, it’s not practical for the reasons I just mentioned. So I am not sure if setting someone free is in itself an act of love. I do not believe it is healthy for a spiritual or living being to be separated from something it loves once that connection has been established. I admit this statement is certainly debatable and often depends on the dynamics of the relationship. I do believe “dysfunctional relationships” exist. One early mystical theory I came up with to describe the "meaning of life" is that God incarnates in human form in order to learn and grow spiritually. I imagine the biggest lesson any spiritual being could hope to learn in a single lifetime is how to love unconditionally. I am not sure that if a higher being were to continue to reincarnate as human that it would ever understand love. The only way to experience true love is to understand how the person you are in a relationship with wishes to be treated. If I were God, I would want to understand how the being I am in a relationship with wishes to experience love. If God is to be seen as a superior being that requires lesser beings to worship him, then I highly doubt a loving relationship can be established. In doing this, we are giving God power over us. For the purposes of this paper, I am interpreting the word worship this way to convey a particular message. My sense is that a loving God has no need to be worshiped. If the idea “oneness” is true, then such imbalance of power cannot exist. By allowing an imbalance like this to exist in a relationship, we are creating the opportunity for the other being to develop an over-inflated ego. This instills a sense of fear in us that our God can hurt us. Fear has no place in a loving relationship. In all relationships, including the spiritual ones, “love” involves respect, equality, and mutual understanding. I’ll place some emphasis on equality because I feel that there needs to be a balance of power in a partnership. The idea of equality may not be correct when it comes to God, but in this instance, I want to consider it true for all relationships. Other words that come to mind are honesty, genuineness, loyalty, and honor. These conditions must be present in all relationships, or the partnership cannot be sustained over the long term. In terms of love - I can prove that “pure love” does exist. I do believe that love is blind. It’s very easy to fall in love with a person on the Internet without ever knowing their name, gender, or personal information. It’s an unmistakable feeling a person gets. I do believe that intimacy reinforces a romantic relationship. However, the physical act of making love is not always present in many personal relationships. So that is not a requirement for a true loving relationship. Most of us allow society to define how we see beauty. Physical appearance is only one factor in personal attraction. If we allow other people’s view of beauty to define our own, we inadvertently distort our sense of love for others. This is a tendency we should be on guard for. It inhibits us from realizing true love in our personal relationships, and a sense of “universal love” for humanity. The qualities I use to describe in defining God include kindness, compassion, and empathy. Those are the qualities that define love for me. I do not believe that God abandons people because they are a sinner. I do believe that God cannot save people from their sinful ways if they are not willing to acknowledge that part of them, and give it up. I am not going to define the term "sinner" here. I look to the principle of polarity in explaining the nature of good and evil. Evil is a human interpretation. People know what this evil means to them. I want to focus on the idea of a relationship, as a partnership. People generally agree to enter into partnerships for a purpose. Both parties have a certain understanding of how the relationship will operate. That doesn’t mean altering or modifying the terms of the partnership agreement in order to make it one sided. “Loopholes” are one way of shifting power in a relationship to achieve a dominant position. It’s wrong. If we know what the person wants and we change the nature of the agreement to suit our needs, we are being unethical. It’s immoral. We don’t do something that we know isn’t good for the person or not in the person’s best interests or that the person wouldn’t approve of. I want to make it clear that people do not like to be used. It’s manipulative, deceptive, deceitful, immoral, and unethical. I know, because I’ve been that person. I am sure we have all acted this way at one time, or another. The important thing is that we make an intention to refrain from continuing to engage in this destructive behavior. I don’t know whether I have ever asked anyone to do something that was against their integrity in any of my past lives, but I certainly would not do that in this life. That is inherently wrong and harmful to the people you are leading. I believe that that a leader should be respectful and considerate of the other person’s views and feelings. Equality in a relationship is important. The partner must feel important. Their voice must be heard. I want to add that it’s vital we take the word “hate” out of our vocabulary. The word hate has got to go. It’s harmful. I want to say here and now, that I do not hate or dislike anyone in my life. Hate arises from anger. There is a very simple solution to it. It’s called “let it go.” It’s a feeling. It’s very simple. There is no need for it. Listen to the other person and try to understand what the person is saying instead of putting blocks up. If you fill your mind with false beliefs, or any belief, you are not going to hear the other person. It’s likely that you will continue be angry and resentful toward that person. Lastly, forgiveness is necessary to repair all relationships that have been damaged. If a person has caused pain to another in a relationship, whether it occurred in a marriage, to god, or to the world; forgiveness is the healing agent that can render the relationship whole again. We must forgive others, and ourselves entirely in order continue with the relationship. I have certainly done this in my relationships by taking complete responsibility for all of my experiences (that I have knowledge and awareness of). This goes for my current life and in past ones that I am not totally aware of. I am taking this significant step to further my personal and spiritual growth. It is healthy to accept responsibility for your experiences and release any guilt or shame associated with them. Author's Bio David Almeida is a Spiritualist and Rosicrucian. He is a past article contributor to the Sedona Journal of Emergence. David is also a Board Certified Hypnotist and Reiki healer. He is the author of The First Truth: A Book of Metaphysical Theories and Illusion of the Body: Introducing the Body Alive Principle. He has also co-authored a chapter for the Adventures in Manifesting Series: Soulful Relationships. David is a committed volunteer advocate for abused and neglected children with the court sanctioned Guardian ad Litem program. Visit his website at http://www.findyourdivinelight.com
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