the voice of God

I am a father and I know a lot of fathers just like me. Sadly some of us are somewhat socially inappropriate – as men and as fathers. Many are hard business men, aggressive negotiators, strong deal makers, blunt communicators, many even unable to interact with our own peers in an appropriately civil manner.
Nevertheless I am constantly amazed at how these hardened men can often so easily and so naturally be softened and drawn into the humble, lowly realm of the infant child – even to the extent of often willingly engaging with them in the usual “gah-gah, goo-goo” babbling language of the child even delighting in their infantile world view however irrational or even “incorrect.”
Now we view God as our father. Heavenly father yes, but even by God’s own initiative and admission he is declared as our father.
So why doesn’t God speak to us in baby talk?
Or does he?

the quirky quark

There is something called the Large Hadron Collider which is situated in Europe somewhere near Geneva.  It is the world’s largest and highest energy particle accelerator.

Now hadron is not a place but rather a term physicists use to refer to atomic particles composed of quarks  – which in turn are believed to be the fundamental sub-atomic units and building blocks of all matter in the universe.  These quarks are extremely illusive little things so it is not difficult to imagine that to get your hands on one is not an easy task.  On a slightly humorous and somewhat less sophisticated (but no less significant) culinary level, a quark is also known as a soft creamy acid-cured cheese made from whole milk.

Anyway, the whole idea of the Hadron Collider – quark  bashing experiment is to create an environment that would facilitate a process that will cause opposing particle beams to collide at extremely high energy in order for physicists to observe what happens and capture and collate data.  The hopeful expectation of all this robust activity is to address and possibly even answer some of the most fundamental questions of life, advancing our understanding of the deepest and most mysterious laws of nature.

 

Sounds pretty much like a charismatic prayer meeting to me.

Yes, I concede, – a whole lot more sophisticated perhaps, but except for the white coats, almost exactly the same …

 

( … on second thoughts, perhaps we could also scrap the ‘white coats’ exception)

whose side is God on?

ok, I confess!! – I love top rank professional boxing contests – also MMA cage combat  … can’t really say what it is, maybe it’s tribal, maybe I’m just a moronic brute?  Maybe it’s the warrior buried deep inside?  Maybe I’m simply deluding myself?  Or it could be that I need help?  However, I cannot but admire these guys nor cease to savour their exploits. … and to quote a Paul Simon lyric, “… just like a dog I was befriended…”

These modern day gladiators are often graduates of real hard-knock histories yet most of them even with the cold steel glares, snarling faces, rippling iron bodies, and layers of tattoos, are seemingly very religious people.  I am always amazed how they virtually all spend a quiet few seconds at the start of the fight and just before pounding their opponent into a bloodied, messy pulp they can be seen dropping to their knees in intense, contemplative prayer to God.  Perhaps this is done as a bid for their own protection but most probably for a resounding personal victory (as yet I simply cannot bring myself to consider for one second that they are praying for the well-being of their opponents).

Often I see both doing the same thing in their respective corners and at the same time.

In these moments I wonder whose side God is on.  Is he on the side of the gladiator with the quickest fists, or the hardest jaw, perhaps the bigger muscles, greater muscle tone, or the fighter with the greater skill or perhaps the best and most experienced trainer ….  You see, usually these are the ones who win anyway, so why pray in the first place?  Why pray at all?  Could God be on the side of the lesser athlete, the ‘underdog’?  Does God tend to care for the weak more than the strong?

We might not be those gladiators, but whose side is God on in our tournament of life?

I am also amazed at how many belief systems believe God is on their side exclusively.  Can this be?

Our history is littered with the broken hearts and even slain bodies of multitudes who paid the ultimate price standing up for their belief that God is on their side exclusively.  Most of us wager eternity on what we believe, and we seem to do it willingly.

So, whose side is God on?  Is God in the middle?  And if God is in the middle or ‘neutral’ is the middle exclusive or inclusive? What if God is on neither side?  What if God is on his own side … and what if we are on our own side?

What if there are no sides at all?

Maybe it’s all 360 degree, endless horizon?