MEETING GOD

MEETING YOUR MAKER

Meeting your maker is an ominous phrase that is used to imply a first introduction upon passage into eternity which we hope or believe will be our eventual fate.  But we don't have to wait that long.  Our first introduction in not likely to be as dramatic as that the apostle Paul experienced when he was knocked to the ground on the way to Damascus (Acts 9:3-5),

Most of us are likely to experience our first awareness of meeting God the way the Old Testament writer did in the gentle breeze following the dramatic natural phenomena he observed.  Others recognized the physical grandeur of the world and the living inhabitants as his works.  Many still feel a sense of awe in quiet moments observing the same things,

YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT

You don't have to wait for a desperate death-bed plea to meet God.  But you have to recognize that God is unlikely to use a burning bush or some other dramatic sign of his presence.  You can avoid meeting God personally by convincing yourself the circumstance was a chance happening or a psychological aberration.  So what are the circumstances likely to give you your introduction.

I suspect an old-fashioned tent revival meeting with a dynamic preacher could be a start.  But my experience makes me think a more gradual spiritual  growth may be more sustainable.  I think there may be some ground rules for making spiritual progress.

Ask for God's help in your journey.
Don't blame God for your problems,
Ask for God's help in dealing with your problems,
Thank God for the good things in your life.
Do what you can do for yourself.
Do what you can do for others.

I think I have had multiple reintroductions to God acting in my life.  One that is available to most of us is to find God in scripture.  I never completed reading the Old Testament after several attempts.  The historical books were a bit much for me,  But Psalms, Proverbs, and some of the shorter books were more manageable.

It is worth trying what Charismatics call "cracking the book".  Open the Bible to some random page and read the first thing that catches your attention.  It was amazing to me how frequently a passage came up that seemed to address an area of personal concern.  I seldom do that anymore, it has been supplanted by daily readings of Old and New Testament texts assigned according to a liturgical calendar.  A booklet with accompanying reflections is often inspirational.

PERSONAL JOURNEY

"My Evolution Blog" was my first post.  Then (May 9, 2013) I was perhaps too excited to put my name and the date on the blog.  Perhaps I was a little skittish about security concerns and retaining my anonymity.  I was 84 at the time and had already lived five years beyond what I had expected after diagnosis of a blood disorder.  I thought the Lord had given me a little more time to complete the manuscript upon which this blog was based.

Well this blog, which was to substitute for publication of the manuscript, was finally started after a remarkable stop of another health problem.  Now, over three years later, I am well recovered from hernia surgery that had been put off for many years.  It is relatively minor surgery, but my lack of enough blood platelets means surgery is more risky.  A platelet transfusion just before the operation minimized the blood loss although my blood hemoglobin dropped about 20%.  I look at the numbers on the printout  of my blood count etc. and realize why physicians are concerned,  But I feel fine in an age adjusted way and am content that I have blogged about the main things I thought I had to say about evolution and God.  So now I will probably continue with things I find of interest and think some of you may share my thoughts.

Earlier in the day I thought I might blog about a few "zingers" I might provide the two main candidates for their first debate tonight.  But I thought I better do the above, three earlier versions of it had already slipped my mind.  I thought they were great, but I went to bed and did not remember them clearly the next day each time.  So now I will return to other topics for my next blog post.

Joseph Engemann      Kalamazoo, Michigan    September 26, 2016