GOD: Giver or Taker?By Trace Thurlby             I was wrong about God.              For years, my fundamental misunderstanding of God's nature warped my relationship with Him. Though I claimed Jesus as Savior, I didn't see a daily need for Him, certainly not as Lord.  In fact, I was convinced living for God would rob me of fun.  I saw God as a Taker.  His Biblical commands seemed like unreasonable killjoys.  I didn't trust God understood my needs or my world, so I picked and chose; creating my own cafeteria-style Christianity.               Like a child playing with his favorite toy, I subtly tightened my grip on parts of my life, turned my back, and refused to reexamine my base assumptions about my Father.  Thankfully, my childish approach wasn't sufficient.  Tossed about by life's trials, I would cry out to God, only to sail away when storms subsided.            My "toys" weren't harmless.  They were self-focused, socially-acceptable idols; bankrupt substitutes for God's best.  I was making mud pies in the back yard.  Jesus had dinner prepared in the banquet hall.            Turns out, He did want my mud pies, but not so He could eat them.  God was not some poor beggar, envying my creations.  He was a benevolent King inviting me to dinner.  The heart of God is not a pernicious, stingy heart.  He is a glorious giver.  Jesus did take my sin and my separation to give me abundant life and His right standing with my Father.            So, I stopped running from God.  I quit trying to figure out how far I could get from Jesus and still call myself a Christian.  I dropped my toys and ran to my Daddy, accepting His giving love and comprehensive Lordship in my life.  I want to be as close to Jesus as I can.             This hasn't eliminated all trials, but my life has been transformed.  When I sin, the mud pies now taste like dirt, and His grace brings me back to the One who takes rags and ashes and gives lasting beauty and riches.  God is both taker and giver.  You can trust Him with your all.    He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30