Skip to main content

Closer to God

At the risk of alienating a percentage of my readers, (OK, reader) I’d like to say that I have always felt close to God.

For the last week or so I’ve been reading Michael Raiter’s Stirrings of the Soul. Apart from an interesting survey of Western spiritual topography (which might possibly include a church out past Dubbo) the book talks about people, even evangelical or ‘Bible-believing’ Christians yearning feeling spiritually ‘dry’, distant from God and yearning for a deeper, more spiritual experience of God.

It would come as no surprise to Evangelicalism’s critics that some Evangelicals have had enough Bible study and want to try something more touchy-feely. Evangelical Christians are sometimes characterised as unfeeling, dogmatic automatons who wouldn’t know a spiritual experience if it landed on their doorstep accompanied by a myriad singing angels. In fact, some people might say, if the angels did turn up they’d be likely to denounce them as being too Charismatic and go back inside to read the next chapter of Calvin’s Institutes.

But I’ve been an Evangelical Christian for as long as I can remember —well over 30 years now—and I’ve never felt distant from God. In fact I’ve found that the more I read, understand and know about God, the closer I feel to him. I even belong to a particular brand of Evangelicalism which is usually characterised as especially book-bound, dogmatic and unfeeling, but I’d have to say that I’ve always been very conscious that God’s love for me, and more so as I’ve learned more about him.

I’m wondering if all this spiritual distance comes about because we take God for granted. We forget or even suppress the truth that we only exist because of God. We forget that it’s his breath in us that gets us out of bed and on the train every morning.

You don’t have to go far in the Bible before you’ve got plenty to thank God for: The world we live in, the beautiful animals, plants and lands, our family, our friends and so on, and so on, and so on. I haven’t even got off the first page and I’m already awestruck by my Father’s love and care for me and I haven’t even begun to think about him sending Jesus to die for me.

Admittedly I live in Australia (which, even if it isn’t God’s own country, is pretty close to it) where we have peace and prosperity and I have plenty to thank God for. But even when times have been much bleaker than they are now, God has always been there, a very present help in trouble. And I know, because Jesus died for me and because the Bible tells me so, that he will always love me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The unforgivable sin as expressed by Andy Prieboy

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” Jesus Christ, Mark 3:28–29 I caught Andy Prieboy’s Tomorrow Wendy on the radio on the weekend and it’s been an ear worm for me for the last few days. I really like the song, but when it gets to the third verse I’m afraid I can’t sing along. I told the priest - “don’t count on any second coming. God got his ass kicked the first time he came down here slumming He had the balls to come, the gall to die and then forgive us - No, I don’t wonder why I wonder what he thought it would get us.” … But God says “jump”, so I set the time ’cause if he ever saw it it was through these eyes of mine and if He ever suf...
9 comments
Read more

I hate suits

Having grown up in a family where ‘shiny-bum’ was a term of abuse applied to useless office types who never did any real work, I’m embarrassed to confess that I’ve worn a hole in my trousers. Of my suit. I’m actually embarrassed to admit that I wear a suit to work, but there it is. I have to wear a suit. I also work for an investment bank, but I’m not even going to start to talk about. So anyway the suit has a hole in it, which is OK, since this is the suit I bought about six years ago for job interviews, weddings, funerals and other suit-requiring events. But really I haven’t worn it that much. Suits are just very flimsy. And expensive, very exensive. Which is what I really hate about suits. They cost a lot to buy and wear out very quickly. The exact opposite of King Gees . This is what really ticks me off. I now have to pay 10 times as much money for clothes which last a tenth of the time. Nevermind that I’m earning 10 times the money...
5 comments
Read more

No severance payment

Anna Ayala has been sentenced to nine years’ jail after fraudulently suing the Wendy’s fast food chain, claiming she had found a severed finger in her chili. Wendy’s sales fell sharply following the alleged discovery, costing the company approximately $2.5 million. Ayala, 39, of Las Vegas, had put the finger in her chili before attempting to sue the restaurant owner. Her husband Jaime Plascencia had got the finger (no pun intended) from a co-worker who had lost it in an industrial accident. Apparently the guy owed him $50, and gave him the finger instead. * Right. So how would that conversation go? “Hey Bob, sorry to hear about the finger.” “Yeah, it really hurt.” “Oh. … So how about that 50 bucks you owe me?” “I’m a bit short this week. You want the finger? Micro surgeons can’t do a thing for me.” “Sure.” So anyway I’ve got this arm in my freezer that a mate d...
2 comments
Read more