Saturday, March 16, 2013

The All-Gone God

I have been working with T on a simple children's catechism that addresses questions like, "Who made you?" ("God made me") and "What is God?" ("God is a spirit and does not have a body like men"). He's doing great and has mastered around 10 questions so far, but he is persistent in answering one question incorrectly.

When I ask, "Where is God?", the correct answer should be, "God is everywhere." Instead, T persists in responding, "God all gone!"

Where he got this, I'll never know. But it got me thinking about what the answer might imply, if he were to actually have put some thought into it.

The fact is, we serve a deeply personal, very "here" (and everywhere) God; but the truth is, we often act more like he is the "All-Gone God."

I acted like he was the All-Gone God on Thursday when I was snippy and edgy with my kids rather than trusting in God as my Ever-Present Help in Trouble.

He is (to me) the All-Gone God when I am stingy and selfish rather than seeing him as the God who caused the widow's jars of oil to flow and flow and flow.

He is the All-Gone God when I believe that he does not see what is done in secret. In truth, "O Lord, you have searched me and known me!" ... every secret thought, every action, every flash of fear or envy or anger across my mind.

He is the All-Gone God when I am defeatest, rather than "The Lord, strong and mighty." I could go on and on; when do you treat God like the All-Gone God?

My son already defaults to All-Gone God mode, and it is largely up to me, another All-Gone-ist to show him that the opposite is, in fact, true. Fortunately, our "very here," "everywhere" God has a word or two for that, too:


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