Listen and Love
Other Posts in this Series
I had a conversation a couple of days ago with a man who described himself as a Deist. He grew up the son of a Baptist minister. His journey then took him to the Presbyterian church where he worshiped for several years. He said, “I kept bumping up against the liturgy. I just couldn’t seem to get beyond it. I kept trying to make sense of it, and finally gave up.”
A Deist, in the classical sense, is one who believes that God put the universe in order but individuals cannot know God in a personal way. Deists believe we can know God only at a distance through examination of the creative order. We can believe in God, says a Deist, but we cannot hear from God through personal or corporate revelation.
A Deist would readily say he or she believes in God, but probably would not claim to love God. Love demands a personal relationship. It demands that we listen for God’s revelation to us. I believe in a God that created the universe and put it in place. I also believe, however, in a God that cares deeply enough to reveal the Divine Nature and Will to me in personal ways.
The liturgical rituals of the church designed to connect us to God didn’t work for my new friend. I’m at a loss to know what to say to this man and others like him because God is very personal to me. God speaks to me in many ways–through scripture, through the voice of others, through silence and meditation, through liturgy and hymnody.
The beginning of hearing is a deep trust that God wants to communicate to me. God wants to touch my life like a parent who deeply loves his or her child. As in any relationship, for me to draw closer to God, I must learn to listen, to hear what God says, to pay attention to God’s desires, and to embrace God’s will that is made know to me.
A quiet place to listen to the voice of God
Since I want to focus on pictures of love, I have to ask, “What does this kind of love look like?”
A woman reflecting on scripture to understand God’s word for her.
A church examining the personal meaning of communion.
A teenager walking a prayer labyrinth.
An act of love is a time of silence at dawn on your back porch.
Reading of scripture in your easy chair before bed.
A walk through the forest with an expectation that
God walks beside you.
A church full of believers, heads bowed in
reverence and expectation.
Comments
One Response to “Listen and Love”
Share your thoughts...
[…] Listening to God Published September 9th, 2007 in Spirituality. Other Posts in this SeriesListen and LoveWhat if God is Silent?What are You Expecting to Hear from God?How Do I Know God’s Voice When I Hear […]