First, I HAVE to tell you that I am not even close to being theologically trained. Anything I say is what I’ve come to understand through reading the scriptures and then praying or, as I like to think about it, talking to God. Also understand that I speak of God in the vernacular. I acknowledge that there is a place for reverence and proper language in the liturgy but I cannot be anyone other than who I amt. If I use modern terminology, it is with all due respect and He knows that. My prayers are more likely to begin with the words of Judy Blume, well known children’s author: “Hello God, it’s me”
So, you’re meeting for coffee with a friend and you tell them you just got engaged to a wonderful man but the friend acts shocked and says they didn’t even know that you were dating. You tell them you weren’t ….that you just met. Sound logical? Not to me. Before you make a commitment to spend the rest of your life with someone, you take the time to get to know them and insure that they’re your soul mate and someone you would want to spend your life with. Why should it be any different with a relationship with God? One of the mistakes I’ve made in the past is making a commitment to a religion without getting to know God and then I wondered why the relationship I had with that religion failed? My reasons for doing so will be covered in a future blog entry but suffice it to say that this time I am putting the emphasis on getting to know God and returning to where I last felt I knew him.
I was once close him. But, as a wise friend quoted to me “If you’re further away from God today than you were yesterday, who moved?”. It wasn’t him. It was me and, like a broken relationship with a spouse or once close friend, I’m rebuilding that relationship and my religion is a way to do that.
When you think about it, look at any individual living or dead and there will be a multitude of opinions as to who he/ she is, what they have done with their life, how they have effected the world, etc. . There are some things though which cannot be debated. Person X has a specific set of parents, was born in a certain place, may have siblings, etc. The only thing that can change is how we view that person and their activities, relationships, etc.
It’s really no different with God. Some folks who don’t really understand who he is refer to him as their higher power. Many faiths also do not believe that Jesus was the son of God but most believe that Jesus walked this earth and had some kind of great impact on it. They know he existed historically but just aren’t sure who he is. The Christian viewpoint is that he was the son of God the Father so therefore of divine nature. Christians are monotheistic so to us God is one of a kind ….none before and none after. He always was. He just didn’t take physical form until Jesus was born of Mary 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. He was never a human like you or I and we can NEVER become like him. Although I have a grasp of the basic about who God is, I’ve paid too much attention to what others tell me about him and not enough time finding out myself. It’s not that others don’t have their own close relationship with God or don’t know who he is. I need something more personal, the kind of relationship encouraged by evangelical churches. Someone else can introduce you. You have to do the relationship building yourself.
But, don’t take my word for it. Do as I say not as I did. Blind acceptance leads to a weak faith. Get to know him yourself by reading the Bible and how it defines the nature of Jesus. If you are not Christian, you will not acknowledge the Bible as an authority but at least read with an open mind to understand how Christians define him. I’ve enjoyed reading the scriptures of other faiths and understanding what they believe as an exercise in understanding. Sometimes we fear and fight what we do not understand. Understanding may not result in acceptance but it will at least dispell misunderstandings. Believe me, this is all I’m looking for. I am not proselytizing. That is not my cup of tea and, in the past, it‘s often sent me in the opposite direction when I experienced it.
Over the years, I lost contact with him. Although he never changed and was still following what I was up to, I ceased communicating and, like when we lose contact with an earthly friend, the process has begun towards getting reacquainted. In terms of earthly relationships, I’m like the person who lost contact with a dear friend and just made contact again . You know who the old friend is and you know that you still care about each other but have some catching up to do. You want to reestablish the friendship and you want to think through why you lost contact In the first place and what you can do to make sure the friendship is on solid ground again and whatever separated you in the first place is dealt with and doesn‘t happen again.
And here I am at the stage of saying “Hello God, can we talk? Sorry I haven’t been contacting you as much as I should. I want to get reacquainted. OK ?”
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