“It’s Between Me and God” — Really?

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I understand why people get uncomfortable when they see someone deeply honouring or submitting to a spiritual leader/ father. 

“Why are you following a man?”
“He is human too.”
“Nobody is perfect.”
“Why give someone that much authority in your life?”

And then comes the most pious statement ever (which, by the way, is not in the Bible)

“My relationship is between me and God.”

Yes, my relationship with God is deeply personal. But I don't believe God intended it to be isolated.

The Kingdom is a family. And in every family, there are people who have walked ahead of us, journeyed longer than us, fought battles we haven't fought yet and learnt things we haven't learnt yet.

That's where fathering becomes beautiful.

A spiritual father isn't someone you worship or put in the place of God. He is someone who journeys with you who sees what God has placed inside you, believes in you, shares wisdom, celebrates your victories, walks with you through failures, opens doors, challenges you to grow and corrects you when necessary. Fathering is not just correction. It is relationship.

It's having someone genuinely invested in who you are becoming.

That's why I value being able to say

"I am a man under authority"

Not because I cannot hear God for myself, but because I recognise that I haven't walked every road. There are people in this family who have journeyed ahead of me, and I want to receive from what God has built in them. Certain breakthroughs in the Kingdom can be accessed only through such relationships. 

Paul could boldly say: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 11:1

If someone said that today, wouldn't some people almost call it heretical?

“Why should I follow you? I only follow Jesus.”

But Paul understood that following someone who follows Christ doesn't have to compete with following Christ.

He also said:

“Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers…” 

1 Corinthians 4:15

There is a difference between someone who teaches you and someone who fathers you.

A father gives you access to his journey.

You learn from victories and failures. You receive wisdom that took years to build. You are encouraged, challenged, trusted and given room to become who God has called you to be.

And a healthy spiritual father doesn't create dependency.

He pushes you towards your own relationship with God.

So when I hear, “It's just between me and God,” my question isn't only, “Who can correct you?”

It's also:

Who are you receiving from?
Who are you journeying with?
Who knows you well enough to speak into your life?
Who has walked ahead of you and is helping you walk further?

Because the Kingdom was never meant to be lived alone.

There are people ahead of us to receive from.
People beside us to journey with.
And people behind us to pour into.

If following Christ leads you away from every form of relationship, accountability and submission, something is missing. and if following a spiritual father leads you away from Christ, something is equally wrong.

Healthy submission does not replace your relationship with God.If you follow Christ, He teaches you how to walk in relationship and submission. And if you submit to the right fathers, they continually point you back to Christ.

That's family.

That's fathering.

That's Kingdom.

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