But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” – Exodus 3:13

Moses, standing before the burning bush that was not being consumed, and probably with shaking knees, asks this question. Such temerity! Most likely all of humankind has wished to ask such a question. What is your name? We know Ultimate Reality (a term I learned in a seminary class) in many different ways. Most are satisfied with the name “God.” Yet, this is a generic term for God. And it doesn’t get at the totality of God’s own being. But, then, nothing can nor ever will.

Bradley Hanson, author of the book Introduction to Christian Theology, says, “How we think about God powerfully influences what we think about God.” Humans throughout the millennia have struggled to understand the nature of deity. All religions, with no exceptions, have some sort of ultimate reality to which they direct both their devotion and, in some cases, their lives. Karl Rahner, the late German theologian and architect of the bridge-building between Catholics and Protestants at Vatican II, called God “the infinite horizon towards which we all move.” He said, too, that God is the “inexhaustible mystery.”

In Acts, Paul, speaking to the Athenians, talks about God. He says, “For in him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:28a). One of my professors of theology, Dr. Charles Wood, taught us that we “do our theology” in the presence of God. Think about that a moment. God is not the object of our theology, but is the subject of our theology, and it is done fully in God’s presence! Micah asked, “With what shall I come before the LORD . . .?” as if one were entering the throne room of some sovereignty (Micah 6:6a).

Do we at times take God for granted? Of course, we all do. Or, maybe, God is “removed” from our consciousness. Again, we all do that. We seem to call upon God only out of necessity, or when we voice prayers during worship. Yet, as has been expressed, God is as close as our next breath. In fact, and metaphorically speaking, if God were to cease breathing, creation would cease to exist! God is intimately involved in all of creation, and, as John wrote, “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” (John 1:3).

Can we live without God? We can try, but we’ll fail. Always. Probably the primary reason we come to worship is to be reminded of God’s presence abiding (as John would say) with us. And that is no come and go relationship. God desires nothing more than to be in relationship with us, to love us, and to shower us with grace and mercy. I urge you to spend quiet time with God. Allow God to fill you anew, giving you the richness of his love. It might just be a life-changing experience no matter how long you’ve been a believer. See you on the journey!

Grace and peace,

Mike

February 5, 2017