Monday, November 14, 2005
"If God is always with us, why is he so hard to find?" asks John Orberg in his book, "God is Closer Than You Think."
Ortberg mentions Michelangelo's painting of "The Creation" in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel where God is reaching out toward Adam. John observes, "If you look carefully at the painting, you notice that the figure of God is extended toward the man with great vigor. He twists his body to move it as close to the man as possible. His head is turned toward the man, and his gaze is fixed on him. God's arm is stretched out, his index finger extended straight forward; every muscle is taut."
He continues "This God is rushing toward Adam on a cloud, one of the "chariots of heaven," propelled by the angels. It is as if even in the midst of the splendor of all creation, God's entire being is wrapped up in his impatient desire to close the gap between himself and this man. He can't wait." Like Adam, Ortberg says, all I must do to touch God is to lift a finger, and he encourages me to seize the opportunities all around me.
"God is still in the business of coming down to earth," he writes, "to this cubicle, this e-mail, this room, this house, this job, this hospital room, this car, this bed, this vacation. Any place can become Bethel, the house of God. Cleveland, maybe. Or the chair you're sitting in as you read these words."
God is as close to us as we allow Him to be. He wants to fellowship with us. He is omnipresent which is a way of saying He is everywhere. If we miss Him, it's because we forget he is in the ordinary moments as well as the times of lightning bolts. I guess the key is to keep our eyes and ears open spiritually so we see and hear God in everything.
Ortberg mentions Michelangelo's painting of "The Creation" in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel where God is reaching out toward Adam. John observes, "If you look carefully at the painting, you notice that the figure of God is extended toward the man with great vigor. He twists his body to move it as close to the man as possible. His head is turned toward the man, and his gaze is fixed on him. God's arm is stretched out, his index finger extended straight forward; every muscle is taut."
He continues "This God is rushing toward Adam on a cloud, one of the "chariots of heaven," propelled by the angels. It is as if even in the midst of the splendor of all creation, God's entire being is wrapped up in his impatient desire to close the gap between himself and this man. He can't wait." Like Adam, Ortberg says, all I must do to touch God is to lift a finger, and he encourages me to seize the opportunities all around me.
"God is still in the business of coming down to earth," he writes, "to this cubicle, this e-mail, this room, this house, this job, this hospital room, this car, this bed, this vacation. Any place can become Bethel, the house of God. Cleveland, maybe. Or the chair you're sitting in as you read these words."
God is as close to us as we allow Him to be. He wants to fellowship with us. He is omnipresent which is a way of saying He is everywhere. If we miss Him, it's because we forget he is in the ordinary moments as well as the times of lightning bolts. I guess the key is to keep our eyes and ears open spiritually so we see and hear God in everything.
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