Relationship with God

Relationships - romantic, familial, political - have always been a favorite topic of mine. Many of my personal rel-ships need work, and I hope to attend to them in the months ahead. That said, there's one 'ship that especially beckons: my relationship with God.

For most of my life, I have been suspicious of phrases like "relationship with God." What does that mean, exactly? How can I relate to an invisible and eternal being? What I am supposed to do? How does one tell the difference between a "real" divine encounters and the projection of deified fantasies into an imaginary relationship?

Well, thank goodness we have blogs to answer such questions once and for all!! Kidding aside, these profound questions warrant (and have inspired) volumes and volumes of writings. Today I'm only going to do the two-minute drill and will save the dissertation for another time. Here is my three-step process for boosting one's relationship with The Godster.

The Image of God: When someone reads or hears the word "GOD," it triggers an image in that person's mind. What is that image for you? For most of my life, I thought of a white man, white robe, white beard, sitting on a throne in a cloud. This is God as Zeus which goes all the way back to the Hellenistic influences on early Christianity. Somewhat ironically, the image was further solidified in the 1950s when Charlton Heston played Moses in the film remake of "The Ten Commandments." Although this heroic father imagery has its place in the Christian canon, it can lead to problems if left unexamined.

First, Zeus and Moses have a law-or-bust preoccupation. That can lead to (what I believe is) a misleading interpretation of God as harsh judge whose biggest concern is that his subjects obey his rules. Second, the image is far too limiting; it's hard for me to accept that the creator of the WHOLE ENTIRE UNIVERSE looks like a retired English Professor in a bathrobe. Third, the image sets off the patriarchy alarms like crazy. In light of male power dominance throughout Western history, it's too convenient to simply think of God as a male, not to mention a straight, able-bodied white guy.

To counteract such unconscious programming, I'm trying to play with different divine imagery, things as big as the nighttime sky to as small as microscopic cells. After all, the God that I worship inhabits such places large and small.

If this topic interests you, check out the 1997 book The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion to a More Contemporary Faith by Marcus Borg. It's a thoughtful and challenging exploration of how our images of God unconsciously play a big role in our formation.

Talking to God - There are many ways to communicate with God, but the most critical and (for me) underutilized form is prayer. One type is intercessory prayer, ie praying on behalf of others. For instance: Oh God, please help my dad while he rehabs from his recent knee replacement surgery. Then there's meditation prayer, they type where I stop listening to the white noise streaming through my brain and just be still. Stillness and quiet are openings for the Holy Spirit.

Meditation is not the same as black magic; it's not invoking power to do your will. Instead, it means coming into harmony with God's creation around us, deepening our attentiveness and awareness to the soft, still voice of God. Mysteriously, unpredictably, and graciously, prayer "works."

Do Something - Think about God, talk to God, and then act on that. Do something consistent with what you believe God is and what you have heard God say to you. Let your image of God inspire you in your human relationships.

I'm not sure what that "doing" will entail for me, at least not in the short term, but I'll continue to do steps 1 and 2 in the meantime. Certainly, time with Scripture provides many examples of Godly relationships, from the ancient Israelites to the early followers of Jesus. To answer a question I posed earlier, Scripture is one resource that can help us discern the difference between our will and the will of God.

What images for God do you find helpful? What is your favorite way to communication with God? How do those two answers inform the choices you make in daily life?