Connecting with God (#1)

Believing there is a God, how do we connect with Him?  How do we meet Him?  If there is such an omniscient, all-powerful God who created us, He either created us for some purpose or He created us for no purpose at all. The latter makes our existence futile. A much more reasonable assumption is that God created people with a purpose in mind which means we need to know what that purpose is.

The solution to this problem would have to come from God. It would be up to Him to get His message to us. That message is what the Bible is all about, and from it we can understand some important things about how this all works.

In Psalm 19:1-3, David says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.  Day unto day utters speech and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth.” God is stating through David that He has revealed Himself through His creation.  

The Heavens declare “there is a God” through their glory.  The universe is demonstrating His handiwork.  Every day His creation is telling us of (showing us) God.  Every night, knowledge is revealed.  24/7, each and every day, God is revealed through His creation.  No matter a person’s language throughout the entire earth, knowledge of God is revealed to them.

God expects us to follow up on this revelation. In Romans 1:18 ff, Paul offers a diatribe against mankind for not accepting and worshipping God.  I’ll quote verse 19-21, but that’s not where Paul stops.  I suggest you read to the end of the chapter (or more.)  “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and divine nature, so that they are without excuse. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened."

Paul takes up where David left off, but Paul is talking about people who do not worship God. Of them he says that they can see creation and know that God exists.  But they won’t. They have no excuse. I love the statement, “His invisible attributes are clearly seen.”  Paul tells us those invisible attributes are God’s eternal power and the very fact that He is God. We, the things that are made, can understand that, in fact have no excuse for not understanding that. Paul goes on to make it clear that God does indeed have a will for mankind.

Here is how this works.  Man observes the universe from the intricate (e.g., the myriad systems that operate together to make the simplest living thing function) to the majestic (e.g., galaxies and solar systems.) Man reasons rationally that design requires a designer.  Man accepts that there is a God. Man seeks a message from God, and God provides the Bible to answer all of man’s questions: How did I get here?  Where did I come from?  Why am I here?  What would God have me to do?  How does this end, what is the future?  How should I direct my steps, order my life, behave, etc.?  How should I worship God and give Him honor and glory?

There is no mysticism here. There is no sitting cross-legged with arms folded breathing incense and reciting mantras. There is no becoming one with the universe. There are no ritualistic journeys or musings that one must undertake. There is a straight-forward, logical, rational thought process that leads one from the most basic realization to a belief and trust in God. As was discussed in ‘For the Love of God,’ emotion will necessarily be a large part of the process because God is love and seeks people to love Him. More on that will come later.*

But mankind’s relationship and connection with God is very straightforward.  Christianity is, in its simplest definition, nothing more than a loving, submissive relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Mark 12:30, Matthew 7:21-23.  Each of us connects with God by meeting Him in this relationship after rational thought  and logical reasoning have caused us to realize that the evidence provided by the creation makes this the necessary conclusion of our ‘quest.’ Having connected with God, our purpose in life is now to devote ourselves to joyfully strengthening and growing that connection in every possible way. We might call that, ‘Trying to Walk’ (in the steps of the Savior.)

*This article is about a person finding their way to a connection with God. We bring the electrical wire and plug it into the socket - a connection. But the breaker is not turned on. As we grow in love the breaker is switched on, and the power begins flowing. Be sure to read next week's blog.