Blogged by Pastor Jon!

We humans just don’t get it.  We chase after the glory of God with words and even songs and we seldom are able to capture the intensity of the moment together, since we are not able to “get” it.  First the reason why we cannot- we look at things from our side of the equation, and not with the eyes of God.  We never get to a place where we entertain such amazing thoughts.  We pale in comparison. 

My inability to get my hands and my head around a God who calls himself “I AM THAT I AM” can only be explained by my lack of follow through and my (a new word may be coming-) divertability.  Consider thinking about climbing up Mt. Sinai with Moses as he approached the unseen God who had told others to stay away from the holy ground to keep from defiling it.  I have done some mountain climbing and as much fun as it is, one really rarely takes it all the way to the top.  Other things prevent me from heading all the way up-my inabilities to execute my plan because of things that I let shift my attention away from my task. It’s too hot here.  It’s too high. It’s too rugged. It’s time to go do something else more fun. The list goes on. We as humans exercise our excuse making as ways and means to keep from having to do the tough tasks.  I’m offering the thought that we lack the follow-through to capture a glimpse of the divine.

We also choose to be easily diverted from the climb.  Other things are more important.  We quickly substitute other behaviors for that which we feel we cannot attain.  And although we know in our hearts the substitution is no where near the original goal, we let it ride.  Here’s where the granola was speaking.  I know of the hard work and preparation Cher went through to provide and prepare an authentic bowl of cereal that was from start to finish the real thing. And this is the key- the emphasis is on real!  We commented on how those who commercial sell food to us consumers will go way out of their way to create a product that tastes “like” a certain product.  How much better is it to actually eat the real thing!   It amazes me that there is a market for such imitations.

Have we at times let our pursuit of God be crafted more in the process of being “like” something and not actually being it?  Do we and our affiliated sisters and brothers in the faith strive for copies of the real thing?  Our television environment has us watching golf or tennis on special channels devoted to such things, robbing us from the joys of doing it ourselves!  Does the practice of our faith drive us to become “watchers” and not “do-ers?” 

Most of modern American church going is driven by such incompleteness of thought.  Our God who abides yesterday, today, and tomorrow certainly brings more thought to the table than I am capable of producing, and at times, all I choose to offer is something that is “like” worship, rather than actually doing it.  Some have suggested the throne room of heaven to be a place where nothing but praise of God takes place.  The eternal “I AM” sits in His holy residence surrounded by the praise of His angelic band, and we sit on this side of heaven wondering if that thought isn’t at least a bit boring, at best.   We are incapable of putting ourselves on that side of the divine equation.  And that drives our choices here on earth.

It seems to me our society in this country tire of things too easily.  We live in a disposable world which also transforms itself to our relationships.  It’s hard to see continuity any more.  It is hard to find things that endure.

Before I completely exhaust all of the current social ills in society, let me get back to the original point.  Our worship of the Almighty I AM is conditioned by our fickleness and our desire to have more colors than a chameleon.  It’s more about what “we” get out of the worship, rather than its object does.  Until we stop seeing things from our perspective alone, we’ll be missing the better part of the divine reality in our experience.  If we need the real thing, then we’d better be willing to go the distance. Otherwise, we’ll have something that will be “like” faith, but unfaith still the same.

I’ll blog more on this as the days go along.  I’m looking forward to what lunch is going to say today!