I wonder about God a lot. I wonder about exactly who God is. I wonder about how God thinks about us – about me – about what our perception of God is. I wonder how much of what we think we know about God is more a reflection of who we want God to be than it is about who God really is. I guess a better way to put it is that the older I get, the less I think I know about God and the greater a mystery God is to me.
As a Christian – and especially as a pastor – I have had occasion to meet quite a few people who claim to know a substantial amount about God. Some even claim to have no questions at all, they’re that certain about what they think they know. Usually, the final claim is that their way is the only way of knowing God.
Good for them – I think. But, maybe not. [More about this in a future blog session.]
For now, I want to give this a deeper look. Talking with a person with that frame of mind is like talking with a baseball fanatic who thinks that baseball is the epitome of athletic endeavor. There may be other athletic outlets a person could engage in, but unless a person is skilled at baseball – well, they’re not a real athlete.
Starting at tee-ball, a person can learn a few things about swinging a bat. In little league, they learn a bit more – but have quite a few rule modifications to make it easy and understandable. Now, a lot of people never play beyond little league. Those who move on – Babe Ruth, Legion, high school – continue to learn more and more about the sport. There are fewer numbers of people who play at those levels – and a lot fewer who ever make it to the pros. And hardly any make it to Major League Baseball.
Most people who stopped at the lower levels continue to enjoy baseball as a spectator sport. Others become umpires, managers, owners, etc., and really, really love the game.
Imagine, though, meeting the kind of person who thinks that football players, tennis players, swimmers, golfers, etc., cannot possibly be athletes. Such a person might say there’s only way to become a true athlete and that’s to engage in the sport of their choice, not of the athlete’s choice. And, such a person may not have ever gotten beyond little league.
See my point?
What do you think? How about your experience with God? In your opinion, is God the Major League Baseball Commissioner and only cares about baseball players? Or does God really care what athletic endeavor you’re involved with? Does it feel as if it puts you out of the mainstream way of thinking about God?
