This challenge came to me the other day when I asked people to pray for me that I get my work done which is going better by the way :).
I said 'pray to God for me' and this was made bold because I always did plan to follow it up.
Well............
Maybe I should start with what I don't mean.
I don't mean myself. This may sound strange to some but some people I know do think they are God or a part of him. I don't. I believe in a God who loves his creation, and who made us in his own image but yet is distinct from his creation. He created all things. We can only create from what he has already created.
I don't mean a multi-faceted, multi named, multi faith God, known as Buddha in some cultures, Allah in others, The Great Architect of the Universe in others still and the Don Quixote in the ones that just don't have a clue. I believe in every culture God has revealed his unchanging character through the things he has made and the things we see everyday around and above us. The day and the night faithfully interchanging. The sun shining on us even when we may have done wrong the day before, showing he is merciful and ready to forgive. The rain falling on us all, showing he is no respector of persons. Life comes with good and bad times for those who follow God and those who don't. His character doesn't change with the customs of each culture. He is one person with one character and one name, which he reveals to his friends and those who have begun to know him.
I don't mean my God or a God out of many options, or the one I like to call God. There is one God who made the heavens, the planets, the solar system and all we see upon the earth, the trees, the rivers and lakes. He is God (with a big G), there is no other.
I don't mean a distant or impersonal God. I believe in a God who is closer to me now then the keyboard I'm typing on. I believe in one who loves me as a Father loves his child. I believe I am loved by him, yes I believe I am loved. I believe in a God that doesn't stay on the outside to try and change within a person. I believe in a God who comes in, who inhabits those who believe and want to follow him and works to change them from the inside out, making them into new people with new hearts. Into people he sees worthy of him and his presence.
When I say the word God I mean someone who doesn't leave us wondering what he's like but someone who shows us, if only we'd believe it! Someone who shows us in the face of his son, a perfect reflection of his perfect character. Someone unafraid to be restricted by what we're restricted by, even for a time. A body which brings sleep to a God who doesn't sleep, hunger to a God who doesn't need to be sustained and death to a God who doesn't die, just to show us what perfection lives, breathes, and acts like in situations we all find ourselves in. An incarnational God unafraid to step into our shoes because though these human restrictions affected his body, he knew they could never affect his spirit.
When I speak of God, I mean a real Father who loves us and never leaves us.
I mean one who is a Spirit who will live on beyond all restrictions we place on him, and seeks to work deeply in the hearts of those who believe in him.
And I mean one who comes as a Son just to show us in the mask of imperfection what perfection looks like.
This is what I mean by God when I speak of him in my blogs......
No comments:
Post a Comment