What's my name?

Does anybody know God's name? I've been writing a book of my life history so that my kids will know who their Dad was and what he was all about. I didn't leave out any of the dirty stuff. That is a part of me, and what I have become. And between you and me, I still enjoy the dirty stuff immensely! But that is not my whole story. In fact, when it all wraps up in the end (and I apologize if visions of dirty stuff are swirling through your heads) it is a small part of who I am.

The bigger part of my life that defines who I am is the people I have encountered, and the trials and tribulations I have faced. They have defined me more than any sexual encounters, or books I have read, or movies I have seen. And through it all, I believe that I came to know God pretty well. Well enough to subtitle my book "How I came to know God on a first name basis". I don't really know God's first name, only that if I speak and address Him, he hears and answers. He may not give me the answer I want to hear, but He answers in some fashion. Not immediately, and not obviously. But He answers. How do I know this? And who am I to say that I know God personally?

Believe me, I am not anybody special. I am just a soon to be out of work guy in Cincinnati, stumbling through life the best I can and helping keep everybody's head above water where ever I can help, and when ever I can help. I'm not even that proactive about helping people! But I do try. I try my best. And I try to do the right thing always, not for me, but the right thing. I am willing to sacrifice for others. That's what I have been tasked with.

I know God personally because that is the only way to know Him. When Jesus said "Go into your closet and pray", he meant take it to heart. Take it to God. Not in a room full of people, but one on one. When all is quiet, and you hear yourself clearly, and can speak freely, without fear of retribution, or being hassled by anyone who might overhear you, then and only then, you can know God too. And you can call Him whatever you want! It really doesn't matter because His name is unpronounceable.

So go tell it on the mountain, and tell it like it is. God will hear you.

Thanks for the pain

Have you thanked God for pain recently? Its pretty easy to walk around singing God's praises when everything is going right, and there are no obstacles to overcome. You see people everyday, driving around in their Jaguars and Lexuses (or is it Lexusi?) with their little fishes on the back of the car, and singing praise to God for all His blessings. And there is nothing wrong with thanking God for bestowing great things upon you. But it is very easy to curse God when things go wrong, too.

I may not mean it when I say it, but G.D. is a very common curse that comes out of my mouth, especially when stuck behind one of these fishy cars in the leftmost lane holding back a line of traffic on I-75 South. Who do these people think they are, impeding my way? Don't they know I like to drive at least 10 miles above the speed limit? And that work is the single most important thing on my agenda today, and they are preventing me from getting there in time to get a hot cup of coffee and chat with my colleagues about how poorly the Bengals played yesterday?

It doesn't occur to us as we are cursing the lane hog that we are being impeded for a reason. Maybe it is so that we will miss that terrible accident that would have occured if we were set free. Maybe there is a reason to get you fired up, get the juices flowing for some encounter you will have during the day. Maybe you just needed more time for reflection this morning.

Take the time to thank God for the obstacles, too.

We are number One, Hey!

I've had multiple conversations, and heard one sermon at a very, very large church with lots of handwaving, devoted Christians where the subject matter was the Christian faith as the correct faith, and all others are incorrect. It reminds me of the scene in "Mystery Men" where they have vanquished the enemy, and are asked who they are. The Phoenix says, "We are number one! All others are number Two, or lower!"

The pastor at the very, very large church was under the impression that Jesus didn't mention other religions, and therefore people who worship based on these other religions cannot possibly get into heaven as a result. He wasn't talking about Jews, he wasn't talking about Hindus, or Buddhists, or Muslims, he was talking about Christians. Nobody else! And anybody who doesn't believe that Jesus is your personal saviour can just go to Hell!

Now I know this is difficult to grasp, so hold onto your socks. How can you be a Christian and think this way? Remember the Good Samaritan? The turning of the tables? Jesus confronting the hypocrites of the church? He was attacking people of his own faith and culture, and presenting those with other faiths and cultural backgrounds as the correct guides! It turns out they were the better Jews than the Jews themselves, even though they did not practice Judaism.

I think the same way today. I heed what Jesus said about going into the closet to pray, and try not to display my Christianity. I am constantly reminded of my failures, when I see a 70 year old Mormon going out of his way to help others while I sit and watch. Do not discount others and their cultural beliefs just because they do not proclaim Christ their personal saviour. You may wind up on the outside looking in! Remember Jesus said, "There will be those who come before me and say, Lord! Lord! Look what I have done for you! And verily I will say unto them, I do not know you." It could be that the best Christians aren't Christians at all.

Forgive me

Is it humanly possible to forgive someone for their sins? When someone does you wrong, you are supposed to turn the other cheek, and do it repeatedly until it hurts, and then do it some more. But that doesn't include forgiveness, does it? That is to say by allowing someone to slap you silly, you aren't necessarily forgiving them. And if your Father were to rape, cheat, mutilate, and murder, are you supposed to allow it? Are you supposed to forgive him and say, "Eh, that's ok! He is only human!"

Leave forgiveness to the pros. Don't beat yourself up for holding a grudge. Its ok to get upset when people do you wrong. You don't have to be pansy. Their day will come.