19 September 2010
Thinking about God
24/09/10 10:06
I often think about God. Most of you, while not saying it aloud, might think, “Well, of course you do; that’s your job.” Perhaps you will be encouraged to know that I thought about God often even when I was a little kid. And, my dwelling on the subject was one of the clues that led me to the possibility of ministry.
Others, though, might be surprised to hear me say that it is easy not to think about God, even for someone who is in the ministry. When I’m locking up the building at the end of a day, or trying to figure out the source of a water leak in the education building, or wondering why it is taking the city so long to finish the streets around the church, the question, “What is God up to in all this?” does not immediately come to mind.
I think I have figured out one of the reasons for this lack of the sense of God’s action. It has to do with “sameness.” You know, today looking a lot like yesterday. All of this occurred to me recently as I sat in the stands at the football stadium watching a local team lose another game. I’m not beating up on the team; I’m just saying that when a team has won one game in three years, everything starts looking the same. It is hard to see how something could be different.
What I have learned, though, is that looks are deceiving. What we see and what is real are often two very different things, especially when it comes to God. All week long, not only have I been thinking about God, but I have also been talking about him. Most of you might say, “Well, of course you have; that’s your job.” My conversations, though, have been with folks who don’t have my job – folks who show up at football games, fix water leaks, work in grocery stores or offices, drive trucks or fly planes.
Every conversation began in an ordinary way. Some seemingly random experience, common to everyone, had been theirs. Each was trying to sort his way to a conclusion, insight, or understanding. We talked. Eventually, one or the other of us would say in some form, “What is God up to in all this?” When that happened, it was no longer an ordinary conversation, but one that contained the possibility of real change.
I invite you to think about God. I invite you to talk about God, to ask, “What is God up to in all this?” I think you will be wonderfully surprised at the difference it makes.
Blessings, Sam
Others, though, might be surprised to hear me say that it is easy not to think about God, even for someone who is in the ministry. When I’m locking up the building at the end of a day, or trying to figure out the source of a water leak in the education building, or wondering why it is taking the city so long to finish the streets around the church, the question, “What is God up to in all this?” does not immediately come to mind.
I think I have figured out one of the reasons for this lack of the sense of God’s action. It has to do with “sameness.” You know, today looking a lot like yesterday. All of this occurred to me recently as I sat in the stands at the football stadium watching a local team lose another game. I’m not beating up on the team; I’m just saying that when a team has won one game in three years, everything starts looking the same. It is hard to see how something could be different.
What I have learned, though, is that looks are deceiving. What we see and what is real are often two very different things, especially when it comes to God. All week long, not only have I been thinking about God, but I have also been talking about him. Most of you might say, “Well, of course you have; that’s your job.” My conversations, though, have been with folks who don’t have my job – folks who show up at football games, fix water leaks, work in grocery stores or offices, drive trucks or fly planes.
Every conversation began in an ordinary way. Some seemingly random experience, common to everyone, had been theirs. Each was trying to sort his way to a conclusion, insight, or understanding. We talked. Eventually, one or the other of us would say in some form, “What is God up to in all this?” When that happened, it was no longer an ordinary conversation, but one that contained the possibility of real change.
I invite you to think about God. I invite you to talk about God, to ask, “What is God up to in all this?” I think you will be wonderfully surprised at the difference it makes.
Blessings, Sam