Remembering

11/26/2009 Human Observations
Thanksgiving Day
Many folks speak of "religion", distracted by activity of people, when asked to consider an encounter with Their Creator. I grew up apart from the knowledge of God, hearing only stories about what was written in the bible. My mom sent my older sister and myself to a Presbyterian church infrequently, but the experience is still with me. There was also a man in my ghetto housing project who held church services in his little apartment. I was also compelled by my mom to attend his services infrequently. These two instances of church experience were my initial exposure to God; and the church. On the one hand, I was compelled to memorize “The Apostle’s Creed”, and on the other, to listen in silent attentiveness when in this makeshift place of worship. Yet I have no clear recollection of any of Word of Scripture from those days. I have, however, retained an understanding of the people who attended those services with me. They were people, some from my neighborhood, some from different neighborhoods, and some from places that seemed very distant from the poverty in which I lived. They were people, male, female, black, white, Hispanic, economically comfortable, and poverty stricken, boisterous, shy, alcoholics, and tea-drinkers alike; all people. I was unaffected by them spiritually because these folks typified the world around me, the same world that nuked Hiroshima, murdered President Kennedy, glorified Mother Theresa, ignored African apartheid, discriminated against me and my household, hung Black people on trees, treated Jews with harsh disrespect while speaking out against “The Holocaust” … well you get the drift. I became a hippie in High School, left the ghetto when I graduated, putting the poverty, ignorance, and exploitation behind me. After a brief moment in the Coast Guard, I continued my search for a better life, believing that truth and freedom were of more value that than the materials gains of worldly compromise. In seeking the truth, I explored many belief systems; yet, they all seemed to have one thing in common: they all used some Christian ethic in their foundation. It occurred to me to explore the common denominator. One particular meditation group often quoted a scripture in preparation for a particular meditation focus: “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God.” That was the first scripture I’d ever learned. It turned out to be the foundation of my relationship with the Jesus. I determined, in 1976, to hitch-hike to Los Angeles, California to meet the Guru of my meditation group. My travels took me elsewhere, to Laguna Beach, California, where I got a job as a cook (I’d never cooked professionally in a real restaurant prior to that moment) in a restaurant whose employees were 90% Christian. I became a Christian almost immediately. The first book of the bible that I read was the book of Revelation. In reading it, I saw the events of the book like a movie playing within my mind. I was amazed. As time went by, I became more familiar with the God spoken of in the bible. These many years later I see all too clearly that from cover to cover, His every effort is to again bring His people into a position where our arrogance and offensiveness could be separated from us; forever returning us into His presence, where no error exists. There is nothing that anyone possesses that was not given to them by the Lord our God, as Jesus pointed out to Pontius Pilate, just before that man of authority gave our Messiah over to be executed. I have come to understand that my search for the truth was just as much a part of God’s plan as Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt. It is the Lord my God who revealed His nature to me by His spoken and written Word; not the actions of folks who claim to know Him. I am not governed by the rules of a non-profit corporation, the traditions of any church, or those who claim to live according to “good” old fashioned family values. I am governed by the very same Creator who gave many the freedom and the mental capacity that they utilize to rebel against Him. That’s why He stands at the door on the outside of the church … knocking. If any individual responds and receives Him, that person will be received of Him. Those who reject Him will be rejected by Him. It’s that simple. The choice is ours. How about that for a brief response? Well, it was my intention to be brief. You know what they say about good intentions.