The Psalmist said, "I thirst and hunger for the living God." Some days I resonate with that and other days I'm not so sure. Truth be told, my encounters with God have not always been in response to my hunger, thirst, or seeking. Sometimes I simply don't know what is good for me. Sometimes it is pure gift on God's part probably driven by mercy for the lost who don't even know it--the ignorant ignorant of their ignorance.
I know this: encounter with God, whether the result of one's seeking or an event in spite of such absence, is by its nature a life altering event. Biblical writers spoke of "scales falling from the eyes" to denote the new perspective that accompanies the divine encounter.
For all the variations of encounter one thing remains almost universally true--encounter with God is to be loved. Encounter is about connection with God who in the Shema is said to be one (Hear O' Israel, the Lord our God is One...) and whose Oneness brings such oneness or connection to the disparate parts of me that befuddle me and resist my best efforts at control and somehow is suddenly in the encounter replaced by clarity of vision and harmony. So, why wouldn't we all thirst and seek such encounter?
The reason is for me rather simple--encounter brings change and the reminder I'm not in control. Surrendering control, surrendering to LIFE as it is and not as I wish it, surrendering to the "isness" of others as they are and not as I wish them to be, is somehow not a naturally occurring event in my heart. Encounter and surrender are inexplicably intertwined and we see it most clearly in the life of Yeshua (Jesus).
now i realize that Greg has been "dumbing down" the sermons so I can understand them. I had no idea there was a term "immanence". Very interesting and I'll have to think about that a bit. As to surrender, I'm not sure I'm there yet. Right now the best I can muster is acceptance, as in I'm going to work like heck to control and manage events, but I accept that i may not succeed.
ReplyDeleteSurrender is a word that denotes somebody or something else won. Which is why I don't like to use the word when discussing my relationship with God. Encounter is also an interesting word, as defined by Apple Dictionary: "unexpectedly experience or be faced with (something difficult or hostile)"
ReplyDeleteThe way I think about being with God, being in God's presence, is blessing, peace, love and being accepted. Not that I must accept something or a situation I don't like, but actually receiving God's acceptance of me and his blessing.
It makes sense that in our capitalist culture, a very competitive culture, that surrender would sound like "defeat" or "somebody else won." If humanity had surrendered to gravity, as some people admonished (if God wanted us to fly God would have given us wings), we would live in a very different world. But, we didn't surrender to gravity but instead have overcome it.
ReplyDeleteI think of the word in relation to size or power. I will surrender to death no matter how valiantly I struggle. Surrendering to God is for me an act of acknowledging the inevitable and doing so sooner rather than later.