I don’t believe God has hands, or ears, or a mouth, I don’t believe God is a He or that God has any human-like characteristics. God is not supernatural or omnipotent.
God has power yes, in fact God is power. The power of Love, the power that gives Life and the power that allows us to Be who we are.
And so if I believe God has no hands and has no ears, then what am I to do? How do I ask for help? How do I seek intercession?
Well if I believe God is Love, Life and Being then I must find ways to tap into that Love, get the most out of Life and Be the best person I can. If I can achieve this, then perhaps I can experience the miracles of everyday life, both small and large. Perhaps then I can experience God in my life.
When I love all of those I come into contact with, when I love unconditionally and wastefully, I can see God in my life. The joy that I feel, the love that is returned is evidence of God, evidence of a higher power working in my life. Not only do I feel love in return but I may experience love in various forms. I may experience love in a kind gesture, or a gift or the care of another. However I experience this love it is often the answer to a prayer. It is God working in my life.
When Christ tells us “I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly!”, I believe He is telling me to live my life fully and to the best of my ability. When I do this I am rewarded over and over again. My life is full, happy and I am free. I may feel better physically, emotionally and mentally. There is joy, I acquire experiences, knowledge and friends. My prayers are answered.
And when I be all that I can be, I realize my full potential. I use my talents and grow as a person. Whether in work or play. Spiritually or mentally. Being the best me allows me to be a part of my community. I can contribute positively to society at large. When I am trying to be the best me that I can be, the blessings come. Promotions and raises at work, good grades at school, perhaps a beautiful garden at home or maybe the sounds of music from my guitar, a canvas covered with paint to make a spectacular picture. Whatever I choose to do, whatever my talent, if I use it and nurture it and practice it and be the best I can, the rewards are many. My prayers are answered.
And so if I live fully, love wastefully and be the best me I can, am I not living a life like Christ? Am I not in contact with God? Am I not experiencing God? Am I not praying? Am I not worshipping God? I believe so.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
god has no hands
Consider for a minute that God has no hands. He didn’t lose them, they weren’t amputated or lost in an accident. God just has no hands.
It would certainly explain a lot. We could then rationalize situations where the hand of God is absent. When a mother murders her children, when a husband kills his wife, when a child is born with AIDS or when nearly 4000 people die in a terrorist attack in NYC. We could say, “well God has no hands, how could he do anything to prevent these horrific acts.”
Consider for a minute that God has no ears. He didn’t lose them, they weren’t removed or lost in an accident. God just has no ears.
It would certainly explain unanswered prayers. We could understand then how thousands in a Christian university could pray constantly for a classmate only to have that classmate die. How our prayers of intercession result only in the need for more prayers. We could say, “well God has no ears, how could he hear us and intercede on our behalf.”
Since the beginning of mankind we have searched for meaning and purpose. We sought our creator, ready to be servile and reverent. We could not explain all that was around us or all that was going on in our lives and so we sought a higher power. That could be the only explanation for the wonders we encountered. Early man had no science, had only a limited vocabulary and no spiritual experience. And so a higher power took on the qualities of the sun, the moon, the wind, the water. We conjured up gods.
Having never seen a god, having never experienced a god we tried ways to describe these gods. They took on human characteristics. They had bodies, beards, flowing robes, hands and ears. But weren’t these just the characteristics we expected a god to have? They must look like us, only more powerful.
And so we gave them supernatural powers. If we didn’t understand weather, well the gods must control the weather. If we didn’t understand fire, then the gods controlled fire. And on it went.
The great civilizations of the world, began to postulate that there must only be one God, one great religion. And so they each developed their own. This God was omnipotent, he had to be to protect his chosen people. “My god had to be bigger than your god or you wouldn’t fear me.” I had to protect my land, my food, my tribe. But again this god took on qualities and characteristics I could understand.
Here we are thousands of years later and we still believe this early man view of god.
Well some do.
I don’t believe God has hands, or ears, or a mouth, I don’t believe God is a He or that God has any human-like characteristics. God is not supernatural or omnipotent.
God has power yes, in fact God is power. The power of Love, the power that gives Life and the power that allows us to Be who we are.
(more to come)
It would certainly explain a lot. We could then rationalize situations where the hand of God is absent. When a mother murders her children, when a husband kills his wife, when a child is born with AIDS or when nearly 4000 people die in a terrorist attack in NYC. We could say, “well God has no hands, how could he do anything to prevent these horrific acts.”
Consider for a minute that God has no ears. He didn’t lose them, they weren’t removed or lost in an accident. God just has no ears.
It would certainly explain unanswered prayers. We could understand then how thousands in a Christian university could pray constantly for a classmate only to have that classmate die. How our prayers of intercession result only in the need for more prayers. We could say, “well God has no ears, how could he hear us and intercede on our behalf.”
Since the beginning of mankind we have searched for meaning and purpose. We sought our creator, ready to be servile and reverent. We could not explain all that was around us or all that was going on in our lives and so we sought a higher power. That could be the only explanation for the wonders we encountered. Early man had no science, had only a limited vocabulary and no spiritual experience. And so a higher power took on the qualities of the sun, the moon, the wind, the water. We conjured up gods.
Having never seen a god, having never experienced a god we tried ways to describe these gods. They took on human characteristics. They had bodies, beards, flowing robes, hands and ears. But weren’t these just the characteristics we expected a god to have? They must look like us, only more powerful.
And so we gave them supernatural powers. If we didn’t understand weather, well the gods must control the weather. If we didn’t understand fire, then the gods controlled fire. And on it went.
The great civilizations of the world, began to postulate that there must only be one God, one great religion. And so they each developed their own. This God was omnipotent, he had to be to protect his chosen people. “My god had to be bigger than your god or you wouldn’t fear me.” I had to protect my land, my food, my tribe. But again this god took on qualities and characteristics I could understand.
Here we are thousands of years later and we still believe this early man view of god.
Well some do.
I don’t believe God has hands, or ears, or a mouth, I don’t believe God is a He or that God has any human-like characteristics. God is not supernatural or omnipotent.
God has power yes, in fact God is power. The power of Love, the power that gives Life and the power that allows us to Be who we are.
(more to come)
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