The Lord uses some cool metaphor-pictures to help us understand different aspects of His care for us.
Each one illustrate a different level of intimacy with Him. He tells us that He is to us as
a potter is to clay
a shepherd is to a sheep
a master is to a servant
a father is to a son
a friend is to a friend
a bridegroom is to a bride
He is The Potter, I am the clay
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter;
we are all the work of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:8)
This relationship reveals you and I as God's creation, designed to His preferences. He assigned my gender, my ethnicity, the era in which I was born, my family, and all my other unchangeable features. My responsibility in this relationship is to accept (and revel in) my design, and to understand how each feature contributes to my Kingdom Assignment.
He is The Shepherd, I am the sheep
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)
As sheep are completely dependent on their shepherd for their sustenance and protection, so are we dependent on our Good Shepherd. Plus, sheep are stupid. So.
He is The Master, I am the servant
Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
(1 Peter 2:16)
If a slave or bondservant in Old Testament Israel loved his master he could choose to remain a permanent slave even after he was legally freed. (See Exodus 21:5-6) That's what we are - willing and eager servants of a gracious Master.
He is The Father, I am the child
Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.
And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)
Ah, now we're seeing the intimacy that God desires with us! A son or daughter is on a different level than a sheep or a servant (even a beloved servant). My responsibility as a child of God is to learn obedience to the Father, so that I can learn to desire, to think, and to will as He does. This relationship also means that we have Jesus as our elder Brother. (For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:29) Which also makes us spiritual siblings of each other!
He is my Friend, I am His friend
But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father
I have made known to you. (John 15:15)
Servants and children basically do what they're told, but friends enjoy things together, share common activities and concerns, likes and dislikes, joys and sorrows. Friends know each other's hearts. Actually, Jesus tells us in the previous verse that we are servants who have been elevated to friendship with the Mater. What a friend we have in Jesus!
He is the Bridegroom, I am the bride
Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His bride has made herself ready (Revelation 19:7)
This is just the best! As great as it is to be God's clay, God's sheep, God's servant, and God's child, the thought of sharing life with Jesus outshines them all, in my humble opinion. The clay pot sits, the sheep grazes, the servant obeys and returns to his own quarters, the child matures and moves out on his own, the friend goes home, but the bride and groom share a home and life forever. Ruling and reigning together with Him over a restored Earth. What a concept!
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