The God within - In the beginning was the Word

God is not a Hebrew, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Muslim, Protestant,  or Confucian. God simply does not represent any of the  world's religions including any pagan beliefs. God did not write or dictate the Bible, Koran, Torah, The Book of the Dead or any of the world’s sacred texts. That is not to say that these writings do not express certain truths about God, but rather they contain imperfect representations of who we believe God to be. While human consciousness has grown with our understanding of evolution it appears we have not allowed this same process to bring about a greater understanding of God. However, the nature of God is beyond human understanding and must not remain fixed or restricted to any one definition. God is everywhere present, including the here and now. God is not elsewhere, such as only in a distant heaven, not in the future so as to be available only when one gets to heaven. So what has become of the unconditionally loving God who remains  as close as the breath we take? Or do we prefer to believe in a distant God possessed with many of our own imperfect human qualities. For many God is portrayed as a being who responds with anger when we fail to obey his rules or wishes – a God with pagan qualities who can only be appeased through complete obedience and submission through special rites and sacrifices? Who is that God who is primarily interested in our sins rather than our potential? How can we ever learn to hope, trust and love such a demanding divinity? Under such conditions how can we learn to discover the God within? More importantly how can we begin to trust and love our neighbour and ourselves? Is it simply that our ego prefers to deny or refuse God’s immediate presence? Or do we believe that we are somehow not worthy to receive his attention? How can we begin to learn again what we already knew before we were born?

I believe this Divine Being is not the least bit concerned about our religious affiliation or lack thereof. This is a Being who does not reward, demand, punish, keep a record of our ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ , play favourites or  interested in our praise and uniform expressions of worship. God simply IS and is present in each human being; as such created to be loved by him UNCONDITIONALLY as we are – not as some would have us be. We are all equally God’s holy creatures. God calls us to become as One - not separate from others or from Him. Each of us is created in His likeness – not special but with a unique character and ability. I believe in a God who is beyond space and time – an Infinite Being who is the nurturing mother and father we may never have experienced. I believe that when we finally begin to recognize the God within we will discover that miracles are not only possible but will become natural every day expressions of a growing and evolving faith.

Most Christians are aware of Jesus through the various Bible stories. But recently Fr. Richard Rohr spoke of the importance of establishing a relationship and experiencing Jesus so we can “hear him, see him with our eyes, and touch him with our hands”.  This requires a movement from a static story to an internalized ongoing experience of Jesus. Recognizing that God (Jesus) already resides deep within each human being should reveal to us the depth and intent of God’s desire to establish a complete Oneness with us.   The deeper that relationship becomes the more we will reflect the created image of God – not only through ourselves but for also for the benefit of others.  We will no longer need to compete for God’s love but become willing sharers of that love.

I like to think of God as communicating with us intuitively  - in a manner that reaches beyond words, thoughts, actions, and traditional teachings.  There is inside of each of us a receptor that cannot be detected by any scientific or medical means but will readily respond to God’s calling whenever we desire to listen. This Voice is distinct and clear. It is a call that resonates, deep inside, with complete love and peace. This is a God who communicates with the infant in the womb, the old , the infirm, the faithful and the faithless - the One who lives in the heart of both sinner and saint. This is the Deity who is beyond words and description – yet speaks to us in a universal language that is absorbed rather than heard. This is the Voice that spoke to us in our mother’s womb. The Voice that speaks softly and gently with a wisdom and acceptance that reaches far beyond worldly understanding. When we "hear" it we will immediately recognize that the Word was with us from the beginning and will remain with us beyond time and space.

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,



the first of his acts of long ago.


Ages ago I was set up,


at the first, before the beginning of the earth.


When there were no depths I was brought forth,


when there were no springs abounding with water.


Before the mountains had been shaped,


before the hills, I was brought forth—


when he had not yet made earth and fields,


or the world’s first bits of soil.


When he established the heavens, I was there,


when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,


when he made firm the skies above,


when he established the fountains of the deep,


when he assigned to the sea its limit,


so that the waters might not transgress his command,


when he marked out the foundations of the earth,


then I was beside him, like a master worker;


and I was daily his delight,


rejoicing before him always,


rejoicing in his inhabited world


and delighting in the human race. - Proverbs 11-31

On a Punishing God

Several years ago, during a catechesis session, inquirers were asked what they thought of God’s unconditional love. It will surprise many readers that the answer to that question still rankles a lot of faithful believers. Even for some members of the clergy it can be difficult to imagine a God who does not punish us for our sins or wrong doings. Many individuals prefer to believe in a God who demands retribution and punishment. These beliefs are often based on faulty interpretations of scripture and fear based religious teachings. For others God’s love never seems to exceed the level of love they received through parents, friends, teachers or relatives. Many of us have fallen in the trap of believing in a legalistic God who keeps a record of all our faults and wrong doings. Thus when the day of reckoning approaches God will present us with a balance sheet that will determine our final fate. Nothing could be further from the Truth. While the road to hell, with its heavy tolls, may be paved with false intentions it exists only here on earth and no where else. We have become experts in creating our own hell. Its basis is easily found in our false self – better known as the ego. The road to heaven, on the other hand, is paved with love – God’s unconditional love. And, its totally free! It resides deep in our hearts and has been called our True Self.

I am reminded of a close friend who who presented me with a list of at least fifty or more biblical references showing an angry and vengeful God. The God I spoke of according to my friend. was much too loving! If we continue to believe in a punishing deity we will have failed to understand God’s gift of salvation,the need to forgive and his desire to transform pain and suffering into a life to be lived in the full here on earth.

Recently I was once again reminded by one of my favourite teachers, just how we are to understand God’s eternal and unconditional love. From his book

Near Occasions of Grace, Richard Rohr makes to following observation:

How do I join in the liberation of the executioners and the victims?
The good news of the resurrection is not that the poor victims of this world will finally triumph over the executioners, while the executioners will be fittingly punished. That is our petty notion of justification. At that point God’s love is not yet truly creative, new, or worthy of God. It is merely our finite projection.
If the resurrection is truly God’s great answer and God’s good news, then God is telling us that Jesus died and rose not only for the victims but also for the executioners. God is not just liberating the liberated and saving the saved. The new righteousness, the good news that is too good, is that God is somehow seeking to free the executioners too.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

An incredible example of this understanding was shown in the following prayer, composed by a Jewish woman who died at the Ravensbruck concentration camp. It was written on wrapping paper and found next to a dead child:

Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will but also those of ill will. But do not only remember the suffering they have inflicted on us; remember the fruits we have brought thanks to this suffering—our comrade­ship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage, the generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of all this, and when they come to judgment, let all the fruits we have borne be their forgiveness.

"If a Jewish woman can pray this for the worst of my German relatives, is not God at least as loving as she? If we recall those who love us the most, we will dis­cover a God who is at least as loving as the best of us."

So writes the Linn family in their book ‘Simple Ways to Pray for Healing’. Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn and Matthew Linn are among the most gifted and compassionate writers I have ever come across. Their book ‘Good Goats – Healing our Image of God’ is a must for anyone who still struggle with the concept of a punishing and vengeful God.

Could it be that our struggle with this negative image reflects our own insistence for revenge and to punish those who have caused us harm or pain? No wonder then that is to difficult for us to understand Jesus, when he said, ‘do not judge’ and seek forgiveness at all times’.