God as Interactive
So which God do we want? I realize that may seem like a very strange question, as if we were at the god cafeteria and could select which ever flavor of God we wanted. But in essence, as we have discussed in earlier articles, this is what we do. We read the scriptures, test our own experience, listen to a variety of traditions and then we make our choice. This exploration and choosing has essentially led to three very distinct images of God in terms of how God relates to the world.
The first is what I will refer to as the Deist God. This is the God who made everything, established a set of immutable laws, set the world in motion and then sat back and watched what took place. Some people have referred to this as the watch-maker God who created a self-sufficient world and simply let it run.
The second is what I will refer to as the hyper-Calvinist God. This is a God who acts upon the world. This God is all powerful, remote and immutable. This God causes all things but is unaffected by what takes place in the world. Everything (and I mean everything) is planned before the beginning of time. History is merely a God-authored script being played out.
Finally there is the God I will call the calling God. This is a God who interacts with all of creation. This is the God who "walks in the cool of the morning" in the Garden of Eden. This is the God who speaks to Abraham and Sarah. This is the God who calls Moses, the judges, the Prophets and Paul. This is the God who becomes flesh in Jesus of Nazareth and is tempted like all of us.
So which God do we want? While I can't answer for ay of you I will choose God number three (so to speak). I will choose the calling God. I will choose this God because, as you will read in a moment, I believe this is the God whom scripture describes, whom Jesus incarnates and who interacts with us today.
This is the God of scripture. God interacts with God's creation. From the very opening lines of scripture in Genesis (God being active in creation) to the closing verses in Revelation (God being in the midst of God's people) God is involved with creation. God is neither remote nor merely acting upon. God is calling, speaking, arguing and acting with and for humanity. God has relationships with human beings in such a way as to impact the choices and decisions that they and we make. This is a God who cares enough to be involved with a world that has the freedom to make choices.
This is the God who is incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. It is remarkable to me that people can see God as either remote or merely acting upon the world, when God loved the world enough to be enfleshed and live in the midst of the trials and tribulations of a human life. This is an incarnate God who took the time to tell stories and parables, heal the sick and give sight to the blind, and then give his life to defeat the powers and principalities of this world. Jesus was not an avatar of God, moving through life unmoved by the pain of the creation. Jesus was one who prayed, wept and loved.
This is a God who is with us today. The book of Acts, the history of the church and much of our experience tells us that God not only cares, but that God listens and acts in the time and space which we occupy. We have encountered a God who cares deeply for us, causing (as even Calvin would argue) our hearts to burn within us. This is a God, who trough the Holy Spirit, guides our lives when we are willing to listen. We experience ourselves not as puppets, but as human beings in relationship with a living God.
So which God do you want? The choice is yours but I hope you will consider God number three.
Next week: God as personal
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