What is Relationship with God?
The problem with humans talking about having a "relationship" with God is that when we hear the word "relationship," we immediately place human characteristics all over it. Why shouldn't we? Most of us have grown up listening to our Pastor talk about his discussions with God as though God came down in human form and chatted with him, face to face, as though it was nothing at all. "Personal relationship" is not the best words to describe our knowing Him. I'm beginning to think we should call it a "knowing" and just leave it at that. When we say "relationship," we expect every human aspect of relationship to be manifested and the truth is, that just doesn't happen.
How do you have relationship with someone you can neither see nor hear? We've all grown up listening to people describe their "relationship" with God as if it were exactly the same as all their earthly relationships. They claim to actually hear His voice, they claim to talk back and forth with Him like they would a neighbor or a best friend and they even claim that He wakes them up in the middle of the night every now and then for a chat. When we hear of this, it's confusing, because if anyone is really honest, it just doesn't happen that way. I will tell you on a personal level that when I hear people talk about God as though they are experiencing this kind of relationship, my first inclination is to suggest that they see a psychiatrist and consider going on some sort of medication. I've also noticed that every single time I've encountered a person who claims to have this human-like relationship with God; their life is almost always in shambles. That "voice" they claim to hear, is constantly offering contradictions. One day it tells them to pack up and move to Colorado, only to change its mind three weeks later and have them move back. One day it tells them to apply for a job at such-and-such place and the next day, they don't even get called for an interview. I have found that "voice hearers" are crazier and more lost than those of us who have the guts to admit that we don't hear anything.
After listening to some people describe their "relationship" with God, I found myself turning my ear upward to the sky after prayer and then waiting to hear an audible voice. Who wouldn't think this way after hearing these people talk? I would go on long walks and talk to Him and then wait for hours trying to hear His response. Nothing! It just about killed me. I felt like an idiot who couldn't get it. More than anything, I felt rejected by God. Why wasn't He talking to me this way?
In the Church, because we so desperately want everyone to think that we've got it, we will expend all our energy trying to convince everyone around us that we're getting it, rather than come clean about what we don't understand. We are having this exact conversation with one of our daughters. We have to constantly remind her that if she doesn't understand something, she needs to raise her hand and ask for clarification. We tell her that she can't just sit there silently and act like she's got it so that no one will know she doesn't. Sadly, we struggle with the same thing in our own lives when it comes to God.
Let me say quite clearly that I have NEVER heard an audible voice from God. I quit trying for that about ten years ago when I began to feel my sanity slipping away. I also don't have human conversations with God where I talk and then He talks and we have a complete dialogue that is exactly like what I might have with a good friend. I've never come to a fork in the road in my life and then clearly hear God telling me to go one way or another. What I have with Him does not resemble my human relationships in any way.
For me, personally, I understand that God is love. To experience communion with God, we must experience communion with Love. The experience of love is not when you receive it from people, but it's when you give it to people. That kind of love is alive. It speaks. It gives direction. It has within it all the answers to the universe. If you focus in on that love and look deeply into the heart of it, you will find the living God. I have spent thousands of hours analyzing the love I feel for my children and in doing so, I have developed a relationship of sorts with the heart of love. I have a knowing sense of His existence wherever I go. I know immediately when a thought comes to me through Him (love) and I can set my senses to hear Him all the time.
When I look at a person I've never seen or met before, I just take a few moments and allow that love in my heart to attach itself to that new person. I might picture that person sad and lonely, or even crying. The moment I feel compassion for them, the love inside of me begins to join itself directly to that person's heart. When that happens, I can see things in that person that I could never otherwise see in my normal state. The love that I have for that person begins to speak to me in a knowing sense. It's not words. It's just stuff being made known to me like I've always known it. It's matter-of-fact stuff that always has to do with the person's heart. I've learned to rely on love in any and all situations when I need direction or clarity. Love is not an emotion. Love is a person. His name is Yahweh!
When different situations arise in my life, I can look at them and know what my friend, Love, would do. I've spent many hours with Him. I know now how He thinks and I know how He responds. I can choose to see these situations through His eyes or through mine. It's not that He is speaking to me and telling me what to do or how to respond to things. He just rubs off on me.
I am offended when people say stuff like, "God told me this" or "God said that," especially when it's something that my friend Love would never, ever say. They are married to "Hate" or "Apathy" and they're attributing the personality characteristics of those two phonies to God Himself. How sad. Some things are just simply not in Love's character. However, that doesn't mean that He will show Himself in the same way to everyone.
One delightful woman once asked me to describe love so that she could have it. I thought for a while and I realized that He takes on a completely different form with each individual person. Though He is always the same, He is entirely unique with each and every person. In other words, the love I have for my daughter, Landin, doesn't have a single thing to do with the love I have for Emma. Sidney's (my second daughter) love looks nothing like Eva's (youngest daughter). There is absolutely no way that I can describe Him to anyone. I can, however, describe Him as He pertains to one particular person, and yet when another person walks up and hears my description, they cannot believe it to be true for them. It's different for them.
I get tickled when I hear Christians so intent upon proving to the world that God is in three persons. My experience has taught me that He is multi-dimensional. There are billions and trillions of entirely unique personalities within His nature, yet amazingly, they all come together and form one God. When you consider that He is different with each and every person on the face of the earth and you count how many people have walked this earth since its creation and then how many are yet to walk it, He is both beyond our understanding and intimately knowable at the same time.
When I look at a person and they ask me to tell them how God feels about them, I think it's worthless and dry to respond by giving them the stock religious list of answers. Telling people "God loves you" means nothing any more. That's a one-size-fits-all answer that is devoid of any individual capabilities. I can tell an individual exactly how God feels specifically for them because I can love them and then describe my feelings to them. The love I have for that specific person IS God's heart for them and no one else! It is unique to only that person and it could not be said to just anyone. That is a thousand times better than just going through a list of Christian sayings that have been so overused that they are drained of their power.
The thing about Love is that it must have a recipient in order for it to ignite. Without someone to receive love, it's not love. If I sent you to Mars and told you to be a loving person, you couldn't because there are no people on Mars. When we understand this principal about love, it's easy to misunderstand the kind of Love that God has put into our hearts. God's Love is not a non-ignited love that is dead until it finds a recipient. He put an already-ignited Love within us. He put the Love that the Father has for the Son inside each of us. It's living and active. It's the essence of who He is. It is ignited and flowing and speaking and showing from the moment it enters our hearts. Giving Love to others is the only way I know how to experience God.
Love is not something that you can conjure up. The exciting thing about it is that it's not an it. Love is a Him. If you just love one person and that's all, you have the power withing you to ignite the entire world on fire with love. It starts with one person and it grows from there. This is not about judging yourself and feeling guilty for not being loving enough. This is about understanding that God is love. There is never a need to feel far away from Him. Just love someone and He is there.
When I say that I know Him and have a "relationship" with Him, I am saying that in a way that would be similar to a person who has endured multiple surgeries due to a severe burn might say that they "know suffering." They've experienced suffering on so many levels that they have developed a relationship with it. One man who struggles with depression once told me that when he got home after a New Year's Eve party, he was met with his "old friend, depression." This is how I see a relationship with Love. The more you spend time in Him and with Him, the more familiar you become with Him. I think too many Christians spend their time seeking a human relationship with an invisible spiritual being and too little stepping up and loving others. For me, it's simple. I don't look into the spirit realm to find God. I look in my heart and I bring up love and there He is. Spending time with that fire of love in my heart IS spending time with God.
Christianity today does not know or understand this love, so they've never experienced its power. It's just a concept to them. So they are left scrambling to find ways to sell their religion to the world. Their answer is to convince others that our life is being lived in a squeaky-clean manner as though that is what God is all about. Sadly, this is what Christianity has made Him out to be. He is a moralist and when He gets a hold of people, He makes them amazingly supernaturally ethical. They find deliverance from their habits and addictions. Blah, blah, blah. Christianity today analyzes the symptoms of love and then attempts to lovelessly reenact those symptoms out of duty. It becomes about performing the symptoms of love and not about loving.
I can hear it now. People are going to say, "What about Muslims who sincerely love," or "What about an atheist who loves people. Are you saying they'll go to heaven?" It's sad and quite telling that this is the first question that modern day Christians ask me when they hear me talk about love, when if they were lovers of people themselves, their first question would have been, "What about Christians who believe in Jesus, but DON'T love?" We've been taught that anyone who loves others aside from Christianity doesn't really love at all. I'm sorry, but I disagree. I do think, however, that anyone who loves aside from Christianity doesn't have the privilege of knowing Love's Name and Love's history and Love's promises and plans for the future. Knowing the Name of Love is hugely significant!
When Christ came (Love in the flesh), certain people immediately recognized Him. They knew love long before they knew His name. They recognized His voice before they knew His name. Jesus said "My sheep will recognize my voice." He wasn't saying that the people who had become His fans will follow Him and be His little groupies. He was literally saying that these people already knew Him before He even arrived. The only thing they didn't know was His Name. Knowing Love's Name is why we spread the Gospel to the world. It's the final switch that clicks in a person's heart and opens them to intimacy on levels they never thought possible. His Name is so powerful that those people who don't even know His heart can simply call upon His Name and still be saved. Knowing His name is everything.
Some of you will hate this
I know many people who sincerely love others with all their heart. It's just who they are and how they've decided to live their life. However, they adamantly reject the "Christian Jesus" they've been fed all their lives. They wouldn't ever dare to call themselves a Christian. When they die and ultimately stand before Jesus, I honestly think they will recognize Him as their best friend whom they knew quite well while on earth. They just didn't know His name. On the same note, I know many people who are all about Jesus. Their entire life is ‘Jesus-this' and ‘Jesus-that.' They are bona fide "Jesus Freaks." However, when they die and stand before Jesus for the first time, I honestly think they are going to look at Him and say, "Excuse me, Sir, can you point me to where Jesus is."
I don't claim to know everything, but I do know this. When a person sincerely opens their heart to the idea of selflessly loving other people, they are opening their heart to Love Himself. I think that decision is a billion times more significant and powerful than rattling off a scripted sinner's prayer with just the right theological ingredients in it to save your ass from Hell. You tell me which is better.
I also know this. If you don't love, YOU DON'T KNOW GOD. And if you do love, YOU KNOW GOD AND YOU ARE KNOWN BY HIM. This is not about how a person receives salvation. This is about how a person can know God intimately. I do not spend my time analyzing whether a person's love is real or not. That's not my job. I do, however, spend a lot of time analyzing the love that exists in my heart and by doing that, I have found that I KNOW GOD. I personally have not found another way of knowing and experiencing Him personally.
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I had a certain weakness in my life that had several times caused tremendous hurt to others and myself. I found myself in the beginning stages of it again but knew the pain it would bring about if I went ahead with it. So I didn't physically take part in it, but flirted with it. I would feel so guilty about it and would then ask GOD to forgive me and help me. The object of this particular fantasy was suddenly taken away. I was very sad and found myself talking to God about it. I was not looking for forgiveness this time. Instead I was talking to him about what I was doing and how I was really feeling about my loss and what was really going on. I left nothing out. I didn't feel that I needed to ask for help and forgiveness. I felt truly known by Him yet loved and accepted and understood.
The Heart is way more important than the brain, as far as the Lord is concerned. Thank you for reminding us of this fact. Especially of the love and the care that the Lord Jesus Christ has for everyone of us!
Darin,Love is the answer and a person moving in Him will draw you like a magnet to them.
Brian, I would think that if we took Him at His word in regards to anything He claimes He is; we could find Him on that level. The Bible says "God is good". Jesus said "I am the truth, the way and the life". I would imagine that you could seek Him on any of these levels and find Him.
Darin, Its refreshing to find such honesty and openness. And I've enjoyed the comments by others. Specifically anonymous and gettingbet. I'm with you folks too. Worried about my lack of passion and fire that I once had. Darin, I would like to profer a broader explanation. I believe as created finite beings we struggle immensely with connecting and relating to God. As St. John of the Cross said, God is wholely unlike us. So in that void of lack of connection we reach out to find something to hold on to. Some, obviously, have gone too far with the mainstream explanations of connecting with Him. But it sounds like you have found an alternative form to connect with. I would argue that its not the only one. I could write the same post about myself in regards to Truth. Gah, no more words..
Darin....If you let me, I want to say something about the "scripted sinners prayer". This is one part of your article I agree with! That subject alone would be worth a book! This is your blog and you have the authority to run it anyway you want, but always remember that when your or my opinion about something is in disagreement with the Word of God......guess who is wrong...."us"!
I agree Eric, that's also what I observed. I think Christians fall back into law again b/c we are not measuring up to the love that we think we are supposed to exhibit so we fake it. The truth is Jesus is Love and the perfect lover. It's faith and trust in Who he is and receiving that love first that transforms us into being able to love. Sometimes I wonder if the nonchristian who just beleives that in the end God will be merciful to him just because God is merciful isn't closer to understanding his love than the self-righteous Christian. Bino, you are right about it all being about the cross.... that's where it all comes together. If it wasn't for the cross we wouldn't have anything.
Bino, I don't think any self respecting Christian would disagree with that statement. The message is exactly that, John 3:16.
The sad fact is that the only people I've ever seen who consistantly try to pass off FAKE love is the Christian community. I have found more authentic, self-less love outside of Christian circles than I've ever found inside them. It's pretty sad when even the world is now having to bring correction to Christians because they don't get it.
My point is, it isn't enough to tell people that God loves you so he sends rain on you, but it is paramount to show them that he loves you so he sent His son to doe for you.
Darin, I do not believe God will not provide his love to anyone who isn't in the club. In fact, Bible says Jesus died for the entire WORLD. But the question is WHO is acknowledging this love? Who is responding to this love by faith? Who is stopping all their efforts to gain god's favor and rests in the sufficiency of Christ? Who is willing to receive the life offered by Christ? If a believer or unbeliever who claims he experiences Christ's love or some kind of love, why is he still not at rest? Those who knows that it is God who sends rain on their corps, do they know THE God who sends it? If they want to know, what is the means? So, yes god's love is available for ALL, but it is when they come to know the God who came to this earth and died for them, they respond to it.
The story about the Good Samaratian kind of confronts this mindset in the people of Jesus' day. For the Jews to even consider that a Gentile might be capable of expressing love, was huge.
Bino, there will always be people who will fake love in order to manipulate people. That does not change authentic love. Just because people may be decieved by an imposter, that doesn't make the real thing any less real. The truth is that no one is decieved. They know the truth. And Yes it is because of the cross that we all can experience authentic love. Do I believe that someone who doesn't consider themselves to be a Christian can experience authentic love. YES. I think we Christians become a danger when we start believing that God will not provide his love to anyone who isn't in the club. The fact is that the world can experience agape love because of what was accomplished on the cross. It's here for us all, Christians and non christians alike. Just as God rains on the good and the bad
I know people who belongs to so many religions keep talking about love, but that is their 'love-god'. In other words, they see 'love' as God; instead of seeing God as love. What Karen said below shows the problem of this kind of thinking. Throughout history, almost all deceptions were done in the name of love. Bible says Devil can come as a 'messenger of light'. 'Messenger of light' is not a bad person, it's a good, loving person. But he uses his love to keep people away from the cross. My point is the genuine love can be found only on the cross, not on any other objects or people. And Jesus start to live through us (believers), we have the capability to express such love. Again, the root of it is Jesus, nothing else, no one else.
Darin, I think I know what you mean by real, true or authentic love. But what concerns me is that people can be mistaken any love for true or real love. The love in 1 Cor 13 is agape, which belongs to God of the Bible. He expressed the same love through many means but ultimate was the cross. Now the question is when we say love, is it rooted and based on the love of God displayed through Christ Jesus on the cross?
Darin, I want to thank you for clarifying the question that I've been struggling with: Can "nonchristians" exhibit real love. I was always taught that they don't b/c of the "total depravity of man" apart from Christ. But my observation and experience is that indeed they do exhibit real love. Isn't this b/c, despite the fall, we all still retain enough of his image that we have the choice to choose or not choose LOVE?
Again a brilliant piece. You never miss. That being said I am going to play devil's advocate. In the blog you stated that God relates with everyone differently and uniquely according to what they need. This I agree with. In my personal life, because of the abuse I have suffered and the incredible loneliness I feel, I have come to know God as that voice that I dialogue with as well as the intense spiritual visions and imagery that he shows me. I do keep in mind though what love is and isn't. This will keep me from confusing the voices wondering what is God and what isn't. God relates to you as the fire of love within you and you know him best that way. I agree that God is love. I also believe that god meets our needs on a personal level. I need a friend to dialogue with who has perfect love
That's a good question Bino. I don't know. I think I could argue both sides of the matter. I lean more towards a yes, if the love we are talking about is authentic. The question goes even deeper though because it really asks, is love of the same debth and weight as God. Does love cover the entirety of who God is or is it just a fraction? My opinion is that there are billions of sides to love that reach further than we ever imagined. The risk of saying that Love is God, would be that humans will most certianly see God as an emotion or just a feeling. Love is neither, although it does affect our feelings and emotions. Perhaps that's one of those questions we can only ponder but never come to the end of. What do you think Bino?
Darin, I have a question for you: God is Love, but is 'love' God? I decided to post this here instead of sending an email because there might be others who would benefit from your answer.
Andrea, what you suggested about Darin and Ike going offline is good. It certainly would have been better than plowing through a long list of comments that apparently wasn't going to be resolved. The times that I've disagreed or had questions with what Darin has said, I've usually sent him an email and he has always been willing to discuss it and explain his reasoning. Even if we ended up not agreeing, there was no attempt by either of us to change the other one's opinion. I don't know Ike or his motivation but perhaps, if he had chosen this method all of the confusion could have been settled peacefully.
I’ve received countless emails from people upset because of the bad spirit in the comment section. I agree with them. The comment section is for comments on the articles. It’s not a forum. We have a forum for dialogue where we encourage people to talk all they wish. The issue here is that someone reads this article and then begins to read a dialogue that has absolutely nothing to do with the article and trails off into accusations and debates that have no end to them. We will almost always delete things in this section when it turns into a full blown conversation. It’s too confusing for the article readers.
I noticed that some of the dialogue on this particular blog has been removed. Why?
Sunshinegirl, on this blog one person requested that Darin delete Ike's comments. I disagree with you that Ike is purposefully stirring up turmoil and I don't believe the dialogue has been "unfruitful." What it revealed is Ike's concern for his wife dealing with her third bout of cancer. As I stated before, we need to practice what we preach. Blogging is fun; however, it gives too much room for misunderstandings to occur and gives rise to situations like this because each of us bring our experiences to the table. Shoot, I still get misunderstood even when I speak with people face to face. I don't know Darin or Ike; however, it may be more "fruitful" if Darin engaged Ike off the blog site. I believe they can sharpen each other more effectively w/o an audience. Just a suggestion.
Thanks, Anthony. Yesterday, I got hurt by someone and didn't feel very loving but I was still aware of Love's presence and I knew He would get me past the hurt. I agree with you. It's impossible to love in my own ability and that's when I have to focus my attention back on Love until He begins to come out. It's definitely a process and I'm still learning.
isnt loving God and Loving Others the ultimate legalism. We cant and dont truly love others and that's why we needed a Savior in the first place. there is no condemnation for those who do not love perfectly. Aida I love that comment you made 9-22-08 Thanks. Its the letting out we get hung up on
Anonymous made a great comment which I feel has gotten lost because of all of the other stuff going on so I want to go back to it. He commented that he was not yet able to fully love. I’ve found that learning to love is a process. One thing that I’m doing that is helping is to look at those times when I actually do love to see what it looks like. It’s been helpful to look at those times and see that I am learning. I don’t try to produce this love but it just seems to grow as I keep my eyes on it. Darin said, “If you just love one person and that's all, you have the power within you to ignite the entire world on fire with love. It starts with one person and it grows from there.” I think that true.
Darin, your description of love - how it really is - is a winner. Can be added to your book. So true about loving others, as I've proved over and over. When we ask Him with all our hearts to plant love in us, to love through us, He really does. And then it gets returned in so many ways. Great writing. (Personal note to Darin: please delete Ike's contributions, as they aren't contributions at all, just some toxic stuff to confuse and pull down.. you're right, he's not worth answering) Bless you
1st Corinthians gives us a beautiful image of agape love. To me, these are the things I strive for...and most times fail miserably at. Long suffering, kind, free of jealousy, envy, pride, free of unseemly behavior, unselfish, not touchy, fretful or resentful, takes no account of wrongs, hates evil, is associated with honesty, protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres. This agape love is greater than faith and hope. I do fail at all these things more than succeed, however, who wouldn't want a friend that is the embodiment of all of the above mentioned things? I feel I have a friend like that in God. The more I try to know him, the more of these things are revealed in me. It's a win win situation because even when I am not at my best..they are always there waiting. http://frankengod.blogspot.com
Candice is my kind of girl! lol. Yes, Darin, thanks for using ass. Strangely I appreciated it because it fit.
This was really good to hear Darin. Some of what you have said has been coalescing in my mind for the last year or so, however once again you have the knack of cogently reframing some of the more difficult areas of non-functional institutional Christianity. It's good not to feel like one is suffering from a type of spiritual autism.
Thanks for using the word ass :)
This is really good. Thanks for all the good reminders. I think you are right on.
Thank you, Darin, for being honest about not always likeing people. It is a running joke between my husband and I that he likes people and I don't. But given the right opportunity I know how to open up my heart to give someone whatever I can to help them. I have never felt that God wanted to keep anything from me that I needed so why would I do that to someone else? I don't do it perfectly everytime but I know when I do it right that God and I have done something together that satisfies us both. I live for that.
Thanks girlfriend. I love you.
In truth, I think we all are (although, like you said, God contains zillions more dimensions). I've been told I am multi-layered, which over the years, I'm now happy to say I embrace and love my "multi-layerism!" And I love it when I discover the multi-layered dimensions in others! Before when living inside the box of a mindset of Reliousity, I bought into the teaching that it's better to be "simple" contained inside a box with little/few dimentions...just as long as you "fit" a version of the modern-day version of an "Acceptable Christian." Beautiful blog Darin. I personally think it's one of your best! ~essings, ~Amy :) http://amyiswalkinginthespirit.blogspot.com
Darin, I truly love your term for relationship as "a knowing!" It's a knowing of the Heart-kind, not of a Head-kind (intellectual). Amen to communion with God being alive, it speaks (nudges, impressions within the heart), guides, comforts, directs. It is Love flowing continuously through me. It IS a knowing sense of His Presence whereever I go. And I agree with you that I can keep my heart open to always hear Him. Ah! I love how you mention that when you have compassion for a person, it enables the Holy Spirit to reveal more about that person than you'd ever be able to obtain by them telling you. I, too, experience this! You put into words what I couldn't quite explain. Amen that Love is a Person!! It's Papa/Son/Holy Spirit. I love your mention of multiple dimensions. (Continued...)
Thanks, Darin! You are very gifted.This blog simplifies, clarifies,reasures and inspires me a great deal.I've known His Love, as sublime as it can be, only through one person in this world, my daughter. I can and do love many other people selflessly, but I tend to get easily hurt when I don't see a response, then I turn the switch off. I am not proud of this, it's just that I don't know what else to do...
Remember that Jesus said even pagans love their own family. Just because we have love doesn't mean that we believe in love. I'm not saying that if we love a single person, we are saved and therefore a Christian. It's the person who believes in love and sincerely want's to give everything over to Love. For me personally, I wouldn't want to date a person who didn't know Loves Name. I'm not sure we'd have much to talk about. Remember this isn't about how to find salvation; this is about how to know the Father.
I love this article when I apply it to my own life, but for me it then begs the question, "What defines a person as a believer?" One part of me wants to say that we shouldn't even try to distinguish one group from the other as the parable of the wheat and the tares seems to indicate. But then I'm single and when I marry, I'm not supposed to be unequally yoked, so I'm supposed to pick another believer. So how then do i do that? Do I pick the guy who seems to love me regardless of how he identifies himself because if he knows love he knows the father? Everybody loves SOMEBODY. Even Hitler had a girlfriend. So then it seems to me that it becomes a matter of deciding if someone's good/loving acts outweigh their bad/hateful acts which gives me that icky, sin-conscious, I.C. feeling.
Yep indeed I know the "crazy" people you are talking about. :) God's got a word for them every five minutes. And He's got a word for everyone else through them as well! I like how you said the word "knowing" is better than "personal relationship." As you say, we seem to see it all through the human aspects of relationship, and in doing so we miss knowing God in all the multi-faceted ways that He knows us and we know Him.
Great stuff, Darin. This post explains so much of what's been happening in my heart over the last 9 months or so. Ha ha! I don't know any folks who have moved to Colorado because they think God told them so. ;-)
Anonymous and gettingbetter fire isn't measured by how big or little it is. Little fires are just as hot as big ones. Fire is fire no matter how you look at it. It only takes a spark to get a gire glowing. Just a spark can bring down an entire ten thousand acre forest. If a forest is 5, 10, 30, 100 or 1000 acres and you want to burn it down, you only need one little spark to do any sized job. Do you love your kids or your mother? Is there at least one person you love? That's all it takes!! The truth is, most days I hate people. On those days I can't really see God. I know He's there, but I can't see him. The more I walk in love, the more I see and know him..
Thanks... You've managed to give voice (no pun intended) to concepts I've known for a long time. I particularly resonated with your descriptions of "recognizing His voice"... the voice of love, even before we "knew" Him. When we limit Father to concepts and ideas 'about' Him and what He does and/or expects.. we don't open ourselves to letting Him teach us who Hw is through His love... so true... so true... sadly.
I sympathize with Anonymous. Since leaving IC, I am dismayed at how selfish I've become. I'm beginning to suspect I did very little as a Christian before other than out of obligation, or exhortation from my fellow ICers. Sure, we got burned, lied to and taken advantage of many times. But at some point I know I need to get over that and learn to live a life of selfless love. I can relate all too well to Anonymous' feelings of people wearing him out. And only feeling able to love a few people right now (mostly my family). I'm hoping God will grow me past this. I know it's a far cry from the life of love even many non-Christians show.
Made me laugh out loud with this one, especially the part about people hearing God tell them what to do. I've even known people who said God told them to cut their hair short. Then six months later they said God told them to grow their hair long. Then they said God told them to quit their job. Then He told them to go back to work at the same place. It always made me laugh: Why couldn't they just say they wanted a change in hairstyle or job?! Anyway, glad you're telling it how it is with people supposedly hearing God. I, like Joel, have from time to time heard the Lord's voice in my heart speaking to me, but the lunacy that passes for "hearing God's voice" in most charismatic circles is pretty sad. He said His sheep hear His voice, but I don't think he meant the way many say they do.
Darin, your post could have left me feeling disheartened. It isn't that I disagree with you. I agree with most of what you wrote. It's just really hard for me "love" others the way you talk about it. Most folks just wear me out, and my love falls far short in this department. I love a few people, but that's it. I used to feel like a failure in this area, but have come to rest in the journey. By what you describe here, it's like once again I'm falling short in the "loving" department, because I just cannot seem to "love others" the way you describe (and I've tried, believe me). I know you are not putting any condemnation on anyone who cannot love others with the ease that you are able to do so. I just thought I'd let you know how some of us might feel that are not yet able to fully love.
Yes, some will hate this. But I loved it.
Thanks for this blog entry, Darin. It is different but so much of it rings true with me. As Aida said, it clarifies a lot. I agree that these expectations can destroy us. For me it just resulted in fear, which led to anger, and finally to hatred toward God Himself. That was obviously the wrong direction. I had to give it up to save my sanity. Thank you for coming out and admitting "the king has no clothes", so to speak. :)
Hey Joel I totally believe you!! I'm not really trying to make the point that He doesn't or won't speak that way. I'm making the point that ultimately that's not how it happens and when people start believing that this is what they sould expect, it destroys them. That doesn't mean that I think He wouldn't ever do that. The "crazy" people I'm talking about are the ones who you know are acting like He speaks out loud when He really isn't.
Please don't be offended -LOL- but God has spoken actual words to me on a few occasions. I'm not looney. :) It simply happened. I can't and don't need to prove it to anyone, and I don't act as if it's an everyday occurrence, but it's been as real as my fingers in front of me that are typing this. All that said, God's language is indeed love and He 'speaks' to all of us in all kinds of ways that have nothing to words. I think you are so right - we will lose our minds if we wait and wait and expect words that aren't ever going to come! He'll simply do it if He so chooses. I like the word you used... multi-dimensional. There's no way to box or restrict all the dimensions of His love and how it's expressed by Him in so many ways... through nature, through people and in limitless other ways.
Darin, this is very good. I think it clarifies a lot. It reminded me of something I heard someone say a number of years ago. He was talking to his young son and the child asked where was God. He said, "In you and in me." The child then asked, "How does he get out?" He said, "When I love you and you love me."