God really doesn’t seem to appreciate it when I try to box him into step-by-step guides and bullet points. He’s too big for that. What we need to do to grow closer to God depends on a lot of things. Sometimes we need to pray. Sometimes we need to show kindness. Sometimes we need to ask forgiveness, and sometimes we may just need to rest so He can use us later.

How we do the thing He asks also changes. Sometimes we have to ask for what we need to remind us of our dependence on Him, and sometimes we need to trust Him to provide it.

Even the “why” is a moving target. Sometimes it is so He can provide joy and peace. Sometimes He needs to comfort us. And sometimes He just wants to show us His love.

But the “Who” never changes. He never runs out of answers, or the willingness to share them with us, as long as He is the one we seek for them. His refusal to be boxed into a set of rules is His gift to us and shows us how unique and valuable each of us are to Him. He tried to give us lists and rules. We broke them. So, He sent Jesus instead.

Jesus paid for our sins. That’s pretty much lesson #1 in Christianity 101. And don’t get me wrong, it’s a very important one. But we can’t stop there, because it wasn’t a donation. It was a purchase, and with it, He bought us direct access to God. Not so we could discover a better version of the rules. He gave us access to God’s heart; the ability to plug into His Spirit so we could see the world through His eyes, and He could instruct us in real-time rather than with a predetermined set of instructions.

That is His will, for us to know Him. Not for what He gives us, how He makes us better people, or for divine answers. Just Him.