The God we worship.

Our news is dominated by one theme:  COVID-19.  The curve is flattening.  And then it isn’t.  People are social distancing.  And then they aren’t.  It seems like some people are going above and beyond to get this thing under control (like healthcare workers, PSWs, truck drivers, etc. - to all of you, THANK YOU!) while others are oblivious to the risk. Is anyone in control?  Can anyone be in control?

We have spent the last four weeks focused on the theme, “Why we gather.”  Part of following Jesus is hanging out with other followers.  How we do that right now demands creativity.  We can’t do the weekly, corporate gatherings but we are chatting with each other on Zoom, connecting with Operation SCREAM, and in general checking in with each other.  Given our current reality, we are doing very well at “gathering-not-gathered” together.

There is still a larger, outstanding question.

The overarching reason why we gather is to worship - but worship who?  It is easy to say, “God.”  This produces more questions: “Which God,” “What is He like,” “Why does He need worship?”  We could make a long list.  These are important questions needing a thoughtful answer.  We can’t afford to be trite or trivialize our faith.  If there is a God (obviously I believe there is), then absolutely everything is dependent on Who and what that God is.  The answers to the great questions, “Who am I?,” “Why am I here?,” and “Is this all there is?” will vary greatly based on our perceptions of God.

Another way of saying this is, “Who is in control here? Can anyone be in control?” Are we the products of random events, benefactors of a stroke of luck, or are we part of a larger, purposeful reality?

Try out this activity.  Take a piece of paper and begin to write out a profile of the ideal God.  If you could create a god, what would it/he/she be like?  Equitable?  Knowable?  Powerful?  Limited? Engaged or aloof? Personal or just an energy force?  When I’ve held this conversation with those who question the reality of God, they almost always end up with a list that is a fairly accurate description of the Creator God we find in the Scriptures.  Interesting!  What we want a god to be - in general - is exactly what He is. Yet the struggle to embrace His love and grace, to have confidence in His goodness, to know we are in His presence, is real.  Why?  Because our sin nature wants US to be God-like and refuses to acknowledge there is a God to whom belongs all power and authority.

Throughout the New Testament there is a focus on knowing God, both in the theological sense (truths about His nature and character) and in the engaged-in-life, living-by-faith sense (walking with God in dynamic relationship).   We crave the latter often at the expense of ignoring the former.  While our efforts to describe the God we want are usually pretty accurate, they usually have significant holes in them.  The only accurate understanding of God comes from carefully understanding the Scriptures.

I hope we can learn and know about God with the same fascination and passion we pursue, learn about, and get to know our spouses.  It shouldn’t be a mind-bending, headache-creating wandering in a maze of intellectualism.  Our Creator God wants to be known and has revealed Himself in beauty, grace, and love.  He is as relevant to the big questions of life as He is to the simple wonder of a sunrise.  He brings joy to the majesty of a soaring hawk and meaning to the ache of a shattered heart.  It isn’t either-or.  It is both-and.

So for the next several weeks we will reflect on “The God we worship.”  I hope we will learn, together, of the majesty and magnitude of God’s love, His grace and mercy, His holiness and justice, and the compassion He directs to each of us.

God is not a stern, angry, secretive old man trying to trick us or make us guess what He wants, always impossible to completely satisfy.  He is the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present King who is passionate to see us reconciled to Him, to enjoy life in His Kingdom, to have lives marked with joy and peace.

Too good to be true?  Almost.  The God of the Scriptures is, at times, hidden and misunderstood because of the reality of a world corrupted by sins, our hearts that seek their own independence, and His patience toward us.  In His goodness He walks with us through adversity rather than removes the obstacles through which we can better learn who He is and how to trust Him.

This is your invitation to a journey as we will explore God’s goodness and grace, holiness and righteousness, His enthronement and engagement.  It will be an imperfect journey because we are an imperfect people - but it will be a confident journey because God has revealed Himself in the context of our imperfections.

This is the God we worship - the Creator, Redeemer, Saviour, Care-giver who has each of us as the focus of His love and grace.  COVID or no COVID, social distancing or not, medical research or not, God is God and There Is No Other.  Let us learn to worship Him - together.