by Hallah, School of the Bible student
I love to relate with people and I am really good at it! But for some reason, it has been very difficult for me to relate with God. For a long time, God seemed like that new guy in school—the one everyone knows, but who is still so mysterious. No one knows where he came from or what he did in the past. He’s just a cool guy.
That’s what I thought about God until I took the initiative to get to know Him.
I’ve been studying the Old Testament for the last few months in the School of the Bible. It’s like studying God’s life. I’m learning what God’s been through from the beginning until 400 BC—His emotions, how He took care of everybody then, and even a glimpse of the relationships He’s had with people.
I like this new perspective. God is no longer just a really good idea to me. He is the best being ever! God isn’t different from one testament to the other, but is the same, consistent, loving person.
One thing that has struck me is how good God is at relationships! Before I read and studied the Old Testament, I didn’t understand the laws that He made. I thought some of them were pretty stupid, actually. But I no longer have that view. I understand that God’s laws in the Old Testament were all about relationship. He wanted to be with His people, and even more than that He wanted to take care of them. He knew what was best for them and didn’t just stand around and watch them hurt themselves. He told them what was good and bad, not because He was arbitrary and wanted to have power over them, but because He loved them and wanted to have a relationship with them.
I am totally excited to study the New Testament next, to see how God showed His interest in being in relationships with people on the entire planet! I think that now as I have read the Old Testament and see God for who He really is, reading the New Testament will impact me further and help give me a more complete view of God.
After learning more about God my relationship with Him has strengthened. I can relate with Him a lot better. God is wonderful, and because of what I know about Him now, I don’t want to ever hesitate to follow Him, because He is just that good.