Living God - JS

What is the evidence of life, of God being alive? How do we know? Can we use the usual criteria - can we see, touch and feel God?

The letter to the Romans says a resounding ‘Yes’- the basic reality of God is plain enough in all that God has created. Creation reveals the eternal power and divine mystery of God (Romans 1:20). The complexity and interwoven design of nature expresses the living God. Many of us would say ‘Yes’ to that - looking out across the landscape, looking down on a panoramic view, looking back along a beach - we capture a glimpse of Living God.

Jesus enters our world and we are invited to meet God come as a man, Living God as a visible and tangible human being. To me this is an even greater mystery than what we glimpse of God in the pattern of creation. The Gospel of John leads us to encounter Jesus as God living with us. Jesus identifies himself with life in many of his sayings. One that springs to mind is “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (14:6)

Jesus goes even further, however. Not only do we encounter Living God in Jesus but also we are offered the gift of being filled with this life. “I have come that they might have life, life in all its fullness.” (10:10) As has been expressed profoundly, “The glory of God is a [person] fully alive!”

Being attentive to God living with us, opens us up to the life of God that God is breathing into us. At times in our fast paced, over stimulated, noise filled, materially crowded existence we can shut down to recognizing the reality of Living God in the small, everyday of life. Living God is in the people, the goodness, the aspirations, the activities and events, the love that we meet each day.

We have many friends at CareWorks who regularly visit us. Bruce rides his bike and comes first thing before the day gets busy. He sits in the Café with a hot cuppa made by Maurie and has a chat. He says “I can feel the love, it’s all around, in the faces of people here… Can’t you just feel it.” Over the months Bruce has been meeting God living amongst us, and I sense it has done his soul a power of good. Living God enables, empowers, enriches and enlivens us too!

Grace and peace,
Julie (Exec. Officer— CareWorks)