Searching for God . . . and Finding Him
On the same night, two stories of a search for God. Two different endings. . .
I spent a long time tonight talking with a man who was at Justice Sunday as part of a documentary he is working on chronicling his “search for God.” He kept returning to the theme of “tolerance” — or actually the “intolerance” of insisting that the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. We had a lengthy, somewhat tortured, fairly theological discussion, straying pretty far afield from judicial politics.
I surprised myself by tearing up a little right at the end when he looked at me directly and said, “Well, how do you know that God exists?” And I started trying to formulate an answer that could adequately convey my own experience of how truly, and personally, real God makes Himself when you do trust Him. . . but the problem is that you really can’t fully express it. The answer only makes sense this side of the Leap of Faith.
I know God exists because He makes Himself real to me. And that is profoundly humbling. I believe God speaks to each individual person in a way that makes sense particularly and uniquely to them.
My interviewer finally walked away, probably as much of a skeptic as he was when we began, convinced that he can define truth for himself. Without bowing to the Truth.
But tonight, Beth Woodfin told me of another skeptic who did have the courage to make the Leap. . . and found the answer she longed for. I wrote just on Saturday about fellow blogger (and Cotillion babe) Denita Two Dragon’s beautiful post about praying with her son and her own quest for God. But later that very day, Denita put up another eloquent post about coming to faith:
And so it was that a few minutes to midnight on the night of August 7th, I converted to Christianity. I did so in a disheveled studio while IMing a good friend, with my hair unwashed and wearing a tattered muu-muu. And somehow, I got the strong feeling that the God to whom I have officially sworn my allegiance wouldn’t have cared if I came to Him freshly showered and in a fancy dress, or reeking of sewage and wearing little more than scraps. And that’s just what I like about my new-found faith. I don’t feel like I have to put on airs in order to prove myself a faithful follower.
So true, Denita. Thanks for sharing the great news.
Justice Sunday II: Wrong Place, Off Target?
The only real news from Justice Sunday II was logistical: who spoke, who sang, how crowded the church was, where media sat, and prominence of bloggers. The messages were the same. Arrogant judges. Judicial activism. As important as all of…
Very touching post. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am glad I came over today to read.
Thanks for the linkage, Charmaine! I hope your conversational companion finds his way to God himself, someday soon. Nothing feels quite so good as coming Home at last!
Keep up the good work, hon!
–TwoDragons
Justice Sunday II
We do not claim the right to speak for everyone but we do claim the right to speak, and…
Justice Sunday and Why People Hate God
They are hoping you fall all over yourself apologizing. They are hoping that you will spend so much time trying to convince people that you don’t hate God that any rebuttal to their loony ideas gets lost in the stammering of “but how can I hate God, I’…
“I believe God speaks to each individual person in a way that makes sense particularly and uniquely to them.”
If it is all personal, then my personal experience may or may not match yours. My conceptions about the spirit and the nature of the universe may not match yours.
Most Christians don’t feel this way. Many Christains will harangue you about how if you are Jewish, or any non-Chirstian brand of religion you are going to hell. (Even the Catholics get this a lot) Or they will decide you need to be burned at the stake, or whatever the Pogrom/Inquisition of the day is doing. They will kill you to save you.
The history of organized religion is too often the history of INtolerance. From Roman persecution of Christians, to the Spanish Inquisition, to Northern Ireland and the Plantation, to the Taliban, organized religion often wants to impose its view of the world on the world. (always for its own good… )
so encouraging … when we truly search for Him, He promises to find us …
I couldn’t help noticing this blog is supposed to be about “politics in real life” and yet the title of this entry is “Searching for God . . . and Finding Him”
Why must you insist on bringing your personal, spirituality into politics? Don’t you know how dangerous that is? Don’t you see how its dividing America?
Where is the sense of America, where we don’t measure one another as Americans by whether or not we’ve had a personal revelation?
Where is the celebration of diversity, and tolerance? Why is it all the people who work at the food bank and homeless shelter are flaming liberals and atheist?
When will we stop giving politicians a free pass just for proclaiming divine inspiration? When will we admit there IS NO COROOLATION between virtue and religious belief? NONE!
It is only when these things come to pass that there will be peace on earth and progress in this country.