August 23, 2017 – Devotions – Your G-d Is Too Small — What is the Purpose of Life?

“A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich.” Luke 18:18-23

I do not believe that Jesus was asked this question directly, but he was asked questions like “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” and “How are we to pray?” Jesus would give direct explanations for how he was teaching his disciples to live lives of faith – and we can extrapolate from his teachings how he might have answered that question. He said at one point, in answer to a question, that the person who followed two main principles in their life would be living a life of purpose according to G-d: they were to love G-d and to love their neighbors as themselves.

People for millennia have asked the question “What is the meaning of life?” Many definitions of meaning in life involves three components: the purpose in one’s existence, and significance or the pursuit and attainment of worthwhile goals and an accompanying sense of fulfillment and responsibility, and finally some enjoyment.

You need to choose a worthy purpose or a significant life goal.
You need to have sufficient understanding of who you are, what life demands of you, and how you can play a significant role in life.
You and you alone are responsible for deciding what kind of life you want to live, and what constitutes a significant and worthwhile life goal.
You will enjoy a deep sense of significance and satisfaction only when you have exercised your responsibility for self-determination and actively pursue a worthy life goal. (Wikipedia)

I believe we can whittle this down to knowing “Your purpose”, which requires knowing your “Self-differentiation”. And Jesus captured both in his defining commandments: our purpose, as created beings by G-d, is to love our creator, which first requires that we love ourselves because G-d first loved us, which propels us into the world to love others. This leads to a solid sense of differentiation, or identity – we are people of G-d; You are a child of G-d. You are a loved, child of G-d. As such, we cannot love G-d if we hate our neighbor – and if we hate G-d we cannot truly love our neighbor. A life devoid of one or both is a life that will forever seek understanding and enjoyment and responsibility – and will constantly struggle with love. (Themes come from the book “Your God Is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips)

Pastor Dave

August 22, 2017 – Devotions: Your G-d Is Too Small — What Is the Nature of G-d?

What is the nature of G-d? Jesus called G-d “Abba, Father” – G-d told Moses to tell the people “I AM” sent you. From one image, that of “Father” we at least can form an image in our minds – the other simply tells us that G-d……Is. One allows a mental image and from that image comes something we can form a relationship – the other exists in time and space. In my mind, if we simply limit our G-d to just a “figure”, then we make G-d “Too small”. But when we realize that G-d exists everywhere all at once, perhaps we make G-d too much to fathom in our limited ability as humans. People of the church have struggled to define G-d for millennia. In the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Melanchthon writes:

The First Article of our Confession our adversaries approve, in which we declare that we believe and teach that there is one divine essence, undivided, etc., and yet, that there are three distinct persons, of the same divine essence, and coeternal, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

The Church Fathers sought to make sense of G-d for three hundred years following the death and resurrection of Jesus. Finally at the Council of Nicaea (325) and confirmed at the Council of Constantinople (381) the Trinitarian formula was worked out into Creeds. It is through the Nicene Creed where we confess our understanding of G-d as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are, as the Apology of the Augsburg Confession states, three distinct persons, co-existent, co-eternal – of the same divine essence. But they also can make G-d seem………….unapproachable.

But when we see G-d as “Parent” or “Familial”, then we can suddenly see how a relationship can form between G-d and us. If we can accept that the whole power of the created universe comes to us as someone Jesus called “Father”, then we can begin to see the creator as someone with which we can relate. The Christian perspective is to be one where “things” do not matter – but “relationships” are everything. We may not be able to relate to the concept of “eternity” – but we can begin to form a relationship with Jesus who lived, breathed, taught, loved, healed, died, and was resurrected for all people. (Themes come from the book “Your God Is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips)

Pastor Dave