what if God were real?
who is God?
i gave my life over to Him 12 years ago. i rededicated my life to Him several times since then. i was baptised two summers ago by a man who represents Jesus better than anyone i've ever met.
now i'm 21 years old, and i'm just now asking the question.
who is God?
i'm tired of God as the creator of the universe. i'm tired of God as the giver of rules and regulations. i'm tired of God as my provider. in other words, i'm tired of knowing God as an entity that could fit into a UPS-sized box.
i want something bigger. something real.
if God created the universe, living in it should allow me to feel pretty close to Him, shouldn't it? is He truly everywhere, always among us, and we're just not opening our eyes to the wonder and beauty and glory and holiness of His presence? if so, why are pastors always saying things like "in the middle of it all, God showed up"? God showed up? in the middle of it all, God's either in the middle of it all, or He isn't. which one is it?
if God is the giver of rules and regulations, and He is just and truth and perfect, then these rules and regulations should only bring peace and order to life. i think they do. i think that by following them, we are truly experiencing the best life possible. but why are they so hard to follow? why, as humans, do we fall short as often as we do? why are we so susceptible to temptation, so carnal, so fickle? i'm all for humility, but sometimes it seems like God's expectations are a little high, and i'll just...never...get there.
if God is my provider, what is it that He's supposed to be providing? are we talking the basics - food, clothing, shelter? or does He also provide the metaphysical - peace, wisdom, joy? i recently watched Evan Almighty, and while it was certainly a comedy, the part that stood out for me the most was actually of a more serious nature. Morgan Freeman, who plays God, shares a nugget of revelation with Joan (Evan's, or Noah's, wife). he points out that when people (such as herself) ask God for something like bringing one's family closer together...God doesn't actually bring them closer together but instead gives them opportunities to grow closer together. likewise, if i ask God for wisdom, he will not grant me wisdom but instead the opportunity to make wise decisions. he does not give me courage, but the opportunity to be courageous. he does not give me peace, but the opportunity to have a peaceful attitude. in my case, i have asked for all of these things, but also i've asked God to stretch me and help me grow. well, now i understand. it's not like he snaps his fingers and shazzam! i'm suddenly this brave, open-minded, adventurous, interesting person. no, he's taking his time, giving me opportunities to stretch myself and grow.
it's up to me to take them. grab them. claim them. make them mine. give myself a little credit. yes, it's God, but we choose. he doesn't force us to choose one thing over another.
free will.
free to be unwilling.
of course, this is all hypothetical. this is if Steve Oedekerk has a clear understanding of who God is and God does, in fact, work this way. but how would Steve Oedekerk know?
how does anyone know?
how does anyone know who God is? we can only each have our own personal understanding, right? we can only understand him according to our own interpretations of the Bible.
i just finished a book the other week that my friend Greg recommended to me a while back. it's called "Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith," and it's written by Rob Bell, 30-something-year-old pastor of Mars Hill church.
it was amazing. i can't even find words worthy of description. but at the time of its completion, it had certainly cleared up some things for me, and confirmed the struggles and discoveries i've been having regarding Christianity and the Bible.
above all else, i am in pursuit of truth.
God is truth.
therefore, all things true belong to God.
ideas and teaching from other religions can be of God.
and there is nothing new under the sun. there are only discoveries. no one invented electricity or immunizations - these things already existed and were only over time discovered.
i want to discover.
i want to live my life in pursuit of discovery.
the discovery of truth.
not what other people believe to be true.
but truth. cold, hard facts that cannot be denied.
everything else is subject for discussion, debate, opposition, study. it's irrelevant and very relevant, meaningless and entirely worthwhile.
because God has spoken, and the rest is just commentary...right?
in the last bunch of months of my existence, i've seen life become so huge that i wanted to kill myself due to its sheer size and the fact that i simply cannot handle it. i've also seen it shrink down to the size of something called death.
it could all be over in a second.
all the questions, the worries, the pain, the frustration, the neverending feelings of hopelessness, loneliness, worthlessness and meaninglessness, could all be over in the blink of an eye.
time, in the end, is nothing. material things are nothing. everything else, apparently, is supposed to keep us going, the things that matter, things like love and friendship and purpose.
when you can't find these things, where does that leave you? what is the point? what is the point of mankind, or even God for that matter?
who is God?
i can't settle for the cliche Christ anymore. i want to see God explode. i want his guts to fall and seep into everything i see and hear and say and do. if he's bigger than life and created the universe, then he's certainly bigger than a little book with a bunch of poems and proverbs slapped in the middle.
words cannot capture him.
deeds cannot sustain him.
rules cannot magnify him.
saints cannot even begin to adequately portray him.
God is not out there, somewhere; i am fully convinced that he's right here in the midst of everything, and i will climb and crawl and grope my way through the dark until i find him. and when i find him, i will fight him. i will wrestle with him as long as humanly possible, even if it costs me. i would rather limp around for the rest of my life as a reminder of what i went through to finally squeeze my fist around God than to never truly know who he is.
i gave my life over to Him 12 years ago. i rededicated my life to Him several times since then. i was baptised two summers ago by a man who represents Jesus better than anyone i've ever met.
now i'm 21 years old, and i'm just now asking the question.
who is God?
i'm tired of God as the creator of the universe. i'm tired of God as the giver of rules and regulations. i'm tired of God as my provider. in other words, i'm tired of knowing God as an entity that could fit into a UPS-sized box.
i want something bigger. something real.
if God created the universe, living in it should allow me to feel pretty close to Him, shouldn't it? is He truly everywhere, always among us, and we're just not opening our eyes to the wonder and beauty and glory and holiness of His presence? if so, why are pastors always saying things like "in the middle of it all, God showed up"? God showed up? in the middle of it all, God's either in the middle of it all, or He isn't. which one is it?
if God is the giver of rules and regulations, and He is just and truth and perfect, then these rules and regulations should only bring peace and order to life. i think they do. i think that by following them, we are truly experiencing the best life possible. but why are they so hard to follow? why, as humans, do we fall short as often as we do? why are we so susceptible to temptation, so carnal, so fickle? i'm all for humility, but sometimes it seems like God's expectations are a little high, and i'll just...never...get there.
if God is my provider, what is it that He's supposed to be providing? are we talking the basics - food, clothing, shelter? or does He also provide the metaphysical - peace, wisdom, joy? i recently watched Evan Almighty, and while it was certainly a comedy, the part that stood out for me the most was actually of a more serious nature. Morgan Freeman, who plays God, shares a nugget of revelation with Joan (Evan's, or Noah's, wife). he points out that when people (such as herself) ask God for something like bringing one's family closer together...God doesn't actually bring them closer together but instead gives them opportunities to grow closer together. likewise, if i ask God for wisdom, he will not grant me wisdom but instead the opportunity to make wise decisions. he does not give me courage, but the opportunity to be courageous. he does not give me peace, but the opportunity to have a peaceful attitude. in my case, i have asked for all of these things, but also i've asked God to stretch me and help me grow. well, now i understand. it's not like he snaps his fingers and shazzam! i'm suddenly this brave, open-minded, adventurous, interesting person. no, he's taking his time, giving me opportunities to stretch myself and grow.
it's up to me to take them. grab them. claim them. make them mine. give myself a little credit. yes, it's God, but we choose. he doesn't force us to choose one thing over another.
free will.
free to be unwilling.
of course, this is all hypothetical. this is if Steve Oedekerk has a clear understanding of who God is and God does, in fact, work this way. but how would Steve Oedekerk know?
how does anyone know?
how does anyone know who God is? we can only each have our own personal understanding, right? we can only understand him according to our own interpretations of the Bible.
i just finished a book the other week that my friend Greg recommended to me a while back. it's called "Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith," and it's written by Rob Bell, 30-something-year-old pastor of Mars Hill church.
it was amazing. i can't even find words worthy of description. but at the time of its completion, it had certainly cleared up some things for me, and confirmed the struggles and discoveries i've been having regarding Christianity and the Bible.
above all else, i am in pursuit of truth.
God is truth.
therefore, all things true belong to God.
ideas and teaching from other religions can be of God.
and there is nothing new under the sun. there are only discoveries. no one invented electricity or immunizations - these things already existed and were only over time discovered.
i want to discover.
i want to live my life in pursuit of discovery.
the discovery of truth.
not what other people believe to be true.
but truth. cold, hard facts that cannot be denied.
everything else is subject for discussion, debate, opposition, study. it's irrelevant and very relevant, meaningless and entirely worthwhile.
because God has spoken, and the rest is just commentary...right?
in the last bunch of months of my existence, i've seen life become so huge that i wanted to kill myself due to its sheer size and the fact that i simply cannot handle it. i've also seen it shrink down to the size of something called death.
it could all be over in a second.
all the questions, the worries, the pain, the frustration, the neverending feelings of hopelessness, loneliness, worthlessness and meaninglessness, could all be over in the blink of an eye.
time, in the end, is nothing. material things are nothing. everything else, apparently, is supposed to keep us going, the things that matter, things like love and friendship and purpose.
when you can't find these things, where does that leave you? what is the point? what is the point of mankind, or even God for that matter?
who is God?
i can't settle for the cliche Christ anymore. i want to see God explode. i want his guts to fall and seep into everything i see and hear and say and do. if he's bigger than life and created the universe, then he's certainly bigger than a little book with a bunch of poems and proverbs slapped in the middle.
words cannot capture him.
deeds cannot sustain him.
rules cannot magnify him.
saints cannot even begin to adequately portray him.
God is not out there, somewhere; i am fully convinced that he's right here in the midst of everything, and i will climb and crawl and grope my way through the dark until i find him. and when i find him, i will fight him. i will wrestle with him as long as humanly possible, even if it costs me. i would rather limp around for the rest of my life as a reminder of what i went through to finally squeeze my fist around God than to never truly know who he is.
posted by audrey at
7:57 PM
2 Comments:
amen.
in the bible it says god is outside of time,scientifically speaking we are in a universe that is located inside time, perhaps in another dimension or just outside of the universe or a higher one, basically we live in a 4d universe, God might be ina universe outisde of time that has infitely more dimensions, basically he can ultimately see every consequence of every action u might take,take, or havent done. Ok to make more sense,he might be in a universe where he can se absouletly everything, he might be that universe himself, a universe with a mind of its own or something i dunno, its God were talking about we have no idea of what he is capable of, remember he is infinitly intelligent, u nor me arent. This is interesting because i dunno i just thought he is in a universe that is invisible to us because of certain things like time, and our awareness, our minds can only detect 3 demensions +time, anything else added to that will just look like a line or a dot, or just nothing. God exists never doubt that, it would be stupid to think that we are alone in this universe. Just because you cant see him doesnt mean he isnt there. U would totally shit your pants if you heard him call u and ask what uve been doing all this time, we need to start preparing so when the day comes that we are being judged by him and he asks us that question, what have we been doing all this time? If your going to do something u want do it, be good etc, do wat you believe is right. No matter what people think, ofcourse respect the 10 comandments. Those who remain will be champions. Concluding i believe god is in a universe were there are infinite dimensions, or he is that universe that has a mind of its own, either way he can see everything and an infinite number of consequences of actions u can take,etc. My knowledge doesnt allow me to make it clearer, but this explanation probably doenst come close to knowing where god is. The only thing im sure of is that wherever he goes, we will always be a part of him, he takes us with him everywhere or i dunno, he never leaves us, we arent aware of this but someday we will, maybe when we die we will be able to escape time and see his realm where u have a place there waiting for you to claim, maybe a girlfriend, a giant mansion or i dunno whatever heaven looks like, infinite happiness, joy, no hunger. Its beautiful, think of it as infinetly more beautiful then the most exotic place on earth. WEll goodnight
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