salt-shaker.blog

ENGAGING GOD

It is so easy to avoid interaction with the God of the universe. He allows it, for if He revealed Himself straight out we could do nothing but cower in terror and acknowledgement. Dallas Willard says He hides so we can seek Him.That day of revelation is actually coming, and some will call upon the rocks to cover them as the brightness of His presence will be too overwhelming. This is not how He wants to engage. Amazing that a being with the power, wisdom, skill, and creativity to fashion inanimate beauty, weather and elements, life in all of our known environments – some capable of breathing in water, some in air, some whose little hooves can scale mountaintops inaccessible to us, some able to fly, all with inexplicable ‘instincts’, a veritable cacophony of life forms all expertly suited to their particular locale – that this same God would so tenderly choose how to reveal Himself to mankind.

Our science, only hundreds of years in the making against the backdrop of eons of life (which science still cannot define), is increasingly rethinking its previous evaluations and moving towards a more theistic concept of the world. The more they discover the more complex and unexpected the findings. If history books were our only resource we would certainly despair, as murder, greed, cruelty and injustice are the universally recurring themes. The sprinkling of kindness, bravery and care seem so easily snuffed out by ambition, imposition of various perceptions of morality, tribalism, and hedonism. Even at that they turn the tide for a bit. When you add God’s story to the meanderings of humanity a different narrative emerges. Good will triumph. God will triumph.

God has been the initiator from the first. He created us to be like Him, hence our longing for a transcendent existence. We chose our idea of personhood and morality instead and so refused Him His correct place in our relationship. Still He calls out and converses. He forgives, though it will cost Him everything. He invites. And with those who respond He makes a contract, limiting Himself and them in order to maintain connection. (Our lower self looks at this as a merely arbitrary imposition of rules.) Every type of person is represented in the story, and it is shocking that He moves His purpose forward with the nobodies of history. His record and the annals of mankind written by historians coincide only in the time frame and location as touching the particular person involved with Him. Civilizations heralded as advanced by men get merely a passing mention from God. He is impressed with trust rather than accomplishment, with character rather than success, with embracing an unseen eternity rather than reordering a visible temporality. As science is only now discovering, there is a reality beyond the ‘known’ world. God want to reinstate that lost connection.

Another surprise is the intensely personal attention He gives each responder despite the fact that there is an entire cosmos under His control. He is not too busy to thoughtfully interact with us on our level, adapting Himself to our particular personalities and passions. He sits with us in our sorrows with tender compassion. He challenges us to be our better selves. He listens to us and answers softly in words only He knows will hit the target of our concerns and pain. He dignifies us to be involved in His purpose for the universe. He shares His Son with us, His life, His heart. He sees us as the pinnacle of His work.

What do we see? Limitation. Religion. Disapproval. Guilt. We are confused about His intention, offended at His methods, limited by our narrow perception – ‘this world is the limit of their horizon’. (Philippians 3:19 jbp) We filter our ideas of Him by the church and its failures, our guilt in our failures, our cultural bias, fear of getting it wrong, uncertainty about faith, confusion about reality, pressure to conform to fatal fads, bewilderment about His teachings, distraction of the present world, skepticism about the future world, false teaching about Him, ignorance of His thoughts towards us, resentment at His commands, indifference to His ways, and the lies of the defeated spirit power. Wow! What a list. To say He is patient is the ultimate understatement.

If anyone should be offended it is Him! After all, He created us in love for relationship, we walked away. He cared enough to re-create us – at unfathomable sacrifice. He knows sorrow, He knows rejection, He knows injustice, He knows misunderstanding, He knows hatred, He knows betrayal – He is not an aloof condescending deity Who demands unquestioning obeisance. Jesus is not only the King of the Cosmos, the One Who conquered our tyrannical slave master, the One whom the entire spirit world acknowledges as ruler, He is the man of sorrows. ‘He is a person who enjoyed, laughed, hurt, hugged, cared, prayed, and taught . He embraced the very ones who would hang Him on a tree with nails. He forgave. He invited from the very place of incredible pain and rejection. He shouted love on the cross’ (The Silver Pages). He engaged mankind again, an echo from the garden of Eden, though from a very different position. And yet we question, we demand proof, logic, scientific assurance of the very God with the ability to make a body capable of thought, emotion, pleasure, pain, and affinity with nature. He invites us to a higher connection, love itself, and we resist.

Why not follow those recorded in His book as heroes and give it a shot? Engage Him. Talk to Him. Be painfully honest. He can handle your questions, your skepticism, your fears. Invite Him into your world. Then listen. Watch for Him. Read His love letter. He may ask you to get out of the boat to walk on unfamiliar terrain. What have you got to lose? Your life here is tenuous anyway and certain to end. But with Him – well, the possibilities are endless. Go for it – leave your reservation behind and dare to trust the God who unreservedly calls Himself your heavenly Father.

Shalom

and Postscript

(Ok – a good place to start to get the plan would be to read Ephesians and maybe Philippians too. Get the JB Phillips translation on Bible Gateway, go to a coffee shop and read the whole thing through like a letter addressed to you from God. It’s not that long, and you’re welcome!)