Sep 21, 2016

 

Five Fallacies About God (6)

3.God has separated you from God because

You have not given God what God needs. (1)

 

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty of our failure to provide what God needs: we are booted out on our own, disgraced, told to earn our keep by the sweat of our brow, with nary a mention of a way to find oneself back with God when this journey is over. That is how it is; with no mention of how to return (but there appears a multitude of others with no explanation: Cain lays with his wife: where did she come from?) Now it is mentioned that God spoke with some of the men (only men are mentioned) as time went by, but nothing is said what their destiny was.

 

I understand that not everyone believes in the literal meaning of the bible, even though polls have shown that up to 40% in the US believe in the literal translation of the bible. I still have not heard any of those so inclined state why the scientific history of the world, Including the cosmological, archeological, and paleontological sciences, that give a much different historical trace of the universe, fit within the framework that have been taught from the biblical sense.

 

The rest of us that have been taught not in the literal meaning of the bible still have been taught in the broad sense that humanity somehow failed to meet the wishes of our God and have been banished from Paradise, or perfect happiness, to fight our future in this world of bloodshed, anger and pain. The concept of ‘original sin’ that we all carry with us permeates our religious teachings, that somehow our ancient forefathers disappointed God in some manner that we have no knowledge about, and we all must suffer and attempt to appease this angry God.

 

These teachings have been ingrained into our very beings, even though they fail to follow what Jesus said. We are told that we are blighted, stained beyond recognition, so that even though we are told that God loves us anyway, not even God can heal the rift that we have made. No, we have to find our way back ourselves, and we are given tomes of ways that are supposed to be followed so that we can reach paradise after we leave this place of pain.

 

What are some of the things Jesus said? How about “The kingdom of heaven (God) lies within you.” (Luke 17:21 KJV). How could the kingdom of God lie within us if we are so far off base? Jesus did not say that only a few have the kingdom of God, just a general statement that covered all: not just the Jews, but all of humanity, bar none. Even a little bit of time spent pondering that statement gives rise to startling conclusions: if the kingdom of God lies within me, then paradise lies within me. If paradise lies within me or is among us as some translations say, then we have not been exiled from paradise, we have just forgotten how to see it right here. If we have forgotten how to see paradise, it may be possible to find a way, here and now, to see paradise on earth.

 

Thus we can live out, in fullness, the saying of Jesus “But seek first the kingdom of God — and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt 6:33 (NIV)).

 

Know that the Lord is God.

It is God who made us,

And we are God’s.

                     Psalm 100: 3 (NIV)

 

Meditation

My Wisdom, I lay before you, and place my burdens of life into the sanctity of Your Being. I have realized that all my worrying and fears are for naught, for you have consoled me well: “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all else will be given as well.” I place my life into your care, and find the peace and joy that are mine simply by resting in your care. I ask but to be aware that I am always in your presence, that the kingdom of God fills me and all that I perceive. What more could I ask for in this life? Open my eyes to see that You have not abandoned me to the wild world, but that Your world is filled with love that permeates all the beauty that is our universe. I am grateful for this life of love that is mine; and I trust that all will be well in the future even as my life here is completed. Your Joy fills my being; thank you for all that is.

 

 

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These five themes are taken from Conversation with God series of books, but the process discussed is a compilation of many sources and my processing of those sources.