I've known for a long time that God isn't who we think He is.
He's so much more than human words and minds can imagine.
When someone comes to a fantastic idea about God, it seems that they write a book about it, the idea catches on for a while or in a certain area of the world, perhaps a new denomination of Christianity is formed... perhaps a new religion is formed... Well, I'm not going to write a book - I may read one or two of the books already out there that are seeking the "true" nature of God, but I'll be content to blog and pray, "hoping to God" that I'm not deluding myself or making it more difficult to commune with Him.
"Commune with Him." Sometimes certain phrases I've said all my life strike me and make me stop and think how crazy and wrong I must sound to someone who does not know God. But then I think about all the other religions that have their own ways to God like "following the
Noble Eightfold Path" (which is actually pretty good until the last one...) and "
Worship Allah as if you see Him."
And so I, because I have grown up in Christianity, have come to believe in the God of the American Protestant convention. Don't get me wrong, whoever He really is, He's the real God, creator of the universe, and He loved us enough to give us the choice to love Him - because who really feels loved when the other person has no choice? And He loved us enough to come rescue us when we blew it and turned away from Him.
But, but, but, the waves of doubt crash on my forehead... what if we're not completely right? Or what if some of those other religions are on the right track but just haven't reached the Jesus switch? At times like this I turn to the book I have that for centuries has been snipped and stretched, translated and screen played, but has always been called "the Word of God." This is an excerpt from the book of Romans. (
Romans 1:1-7, 18-28. My emphasis added.) Paul was a killer of Christians who was forgiven by Jesus in a blinding flash of light. Then he couldn't stop telling people about the love of God...
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
- - -
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."
Sit in that for a while. That's what I'm going to do... thanks for reading.
- Jen
