God comes near.....

Deuteronomy 4 : 1, 5- 9

What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we call upon him?

Is our God a genie who comes to us out of a magic bottle whenever we call upon him? Some find such an image comfortable and easy to handle - God comes when it is convenient for us, then it is back into the magic bottle until we need his help again. Perhaps this is the way some of us started off on the journey. Perhaps in a way, that is the way I approached God once upon a time. A God whom I happily accepted gifts from and in return kept up my part of the deal by obeying certain rules and regulations and faithfully doing certain religious duties!!

But our relationship with God is much more than following rules or the 'law', even though Moses was reminding the people to keep the commandments. For in time, Jesus came to 'fulfill' (Matt. 5 : 17 - 19) the law and the prophets. In his person, he was the fulfillment. He came to show us the human face of God, as someone who would always be 'near' to us.

Does this sound uncomfortable to us? It can be if we have the wrong notion of the God who comes near. Lately, I have begun to accept my 'humanity' much more fully. There is nothing wrong with being human. We often equate being human with 'sin', and people try to excuse their sin by saying they are just 'human' and make mistakes. No wonder many Christians prefer to be more 'spiritual' but not too 'human'. But there is a beautiful side of being human that the "God who comes near" makes real to us. God in Christ, helps me accept my life as it comes, not fighting with my vulnerabilities, with my finiteness. When I begin to accept myself this way, so much more of life opens up. I'm no longer afraid of a lot of things. I no longer need to be 'superhuman' beyond my capacities.

I'm at peace with what I can do, with God's grace, and what I can't do because of my human limitations. I no longer have to 'fix' the world, whether my own or others' (at least, I've been learning to and lately have taken some steps to prune some excess activities). I can appreciate better the varied ways that people react to things, based on where they are in their journey of being human......we are at different places but perhaps all trying to find what it means to be truly 'human' ........because God came near clothed in human flesh. Not a 'genie', not a God who comes with a great rush of power. The message of the cross this Lent reminds us of the God who comes to us in frail human flesh. It is ok to be 'human' too.