Musings: to gaze meditatively or wonderingly; to comment thoughtfully or ruminate upon [something].
Random musings here, so warning, it may be offensive to some.
Sometimes certain Scriptures take on new meaning when life takes a twist or a turn, for me now the one that has taken a deeper meaning is the one recording the last known words of Jesus (from Matthew 28:20): “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” I re-wrote it to remind myself how his words apply to where I am on the journey these days: “And re-member, I AM with you All Ways, to the end of the age.”
It is not a new thought; it is a re-membering: a putting back together that which is eternally true. It is a reminder that whenever Jesus says “I am” it is reminiscent of Yahweh (YHWH) who revealed the divine to Moses by saying “tell them I AM WHO I AM sent you”; or another way of translating YHWH is I AM BECAUSE I AM…or I AM WHO I WILL BE.
No beginning and no end, no changes…just the great I AM. And I say I do believe but…
I believe in I AM WHO IS without end or beginning. Yet so often, I put constraints and restraints on God, as do so many people, coming up with lists of do’s and don’ts, rules and regulations, rituals that turn the sacred into sacrilege.
I scribbled the following on a scrap of paper this morning before I took Juno on our morning ‘prayer’ walk through the rolling hills of eastern West Virginia: belief in God should produce belief in God’s great gift (Unconditional Love) and in God’s greatest promise (Eternal Presence).
But I realize, I limit God and his love, sometimes even more than religions do. I limit God’s presence even more than legalistic Christians do.
I am just musing here…random thoughts on a not-so-random God. So I ask myself: Is God’s love really unconditional?
When I see in me, and in Christian doctrine and denominations, the placing of unbelievable restrictions on God’s love I have to ask myself, what do I believe about God’s supposed unconditional love? We say God’s love is unconditional but most Christians believe that God’s love is only unconditional to those who believe in Jesus. Do we really believe that God loves the Jesus followers equally (the exact same) as God does the prostitute having sex in a car for drugs and cash? Or the man crushing up and snorting Oxy’s while he schemes up a new way to steal some pills to feed this habit? Or the corporate shark stealing millions from unsuspecting investors?
Do we really think God’s love is unconditional? When some say without Jesus, all are condemned to eternal, fire-based punishment? I am going to cop out here and not say what I believe or think about hell, but rather ‘represent’ mainstream Christian thought. I am just musing, and when I muse, I tend to tread on toes and skirt the edges of heresy, I must confess. One thing I do know: God is bigger than my thoughts, doubts, fears and fantasies, so I have no problem bringing them to light…in the light of God’s love.
Is God’s love and Kingdom partially exclusive or completely inclusive? Have we created Christian myths and a religious culture based on exclusion and become dangerously close to true heresy? Could God and God’s kingdom truly be inclusive? Could ALL be invited?
Jesus talked about when we have a dinner to go and invite the culturally uninvitable (the poor, the lame, the unclean, and the unrighteous). Jesus talked about when he comes in glory the only ‘criteria’ for being a ‘sheep’ or a ‘goat’ is what we did and didn’t do to the poor, the hungry, the sick, the naked, and the imprisoned. Jesus made no reference to doctrine or denomination…or even correct confession for that matter.
What do you think? Is Rob Bell a heretic? Does the ancient eastern Orthodox Christian belief that at the end of time ALL will be absorbed back into God’s eternal love and mercy on to something or is it complete mythology and heresy?
Can I see and find God in the profane as much as I can the profound?
I’m just musing here…so don’t start picking up those stones or prepping the wood for the Niles cookout just yet. I am just not afraid to muse in brutal, perplexed honesty.
But as I look inward, I must confess this truth to myself: if I can’t find God in the profane as much as the profound, then I am indeed limiting God and my experience of, and movement towards, him that is for sure.
Musings for today are closed. But let’s remember: God loves us! 😉
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