Who is God to you and me?

Who is God to you? It depends on how much you seek Him, how much you need Him and how much you know Him.

God is the Creator of the planets, the world, the moon , the sun and the stars. He is the Creator of the plants and the creatures on earth. He is the Creator of all heavenly beings. Simply put, He is the Author of all Creation.

God is not only the Creator but He is also the Sustainer of all His Creation. The planets, the moon, the sun and the stars hang on in nothingness in space without crashing into one another and without falling down. The air around the earth has the right amount of oxygen for the vegetation, the creatures and us human beings to inhale and live. There is the right amount of gravity on earth to keep us and everything from floating into space. Yes God truly is the Sustainer. He never sleeps nor slumbers.

Nothing and no one can exist without God. The planets know that and obey Him. The creatures know that and obey Him. Man is the only creature who seems to know it but goes about his affairs as if he created God.

All creatures have five senses, the sense of hearing, the sense of seeing, the sense of speaking, the sense of feeling emotions and finally the sense of touch. Only man has an extra sense; the sixth sense which is the sense of thinking. All creatures with the exception of man, move and operate on instincts. Only man has the ability to think and reason out his thoughts.

Being an intelligent creature, man sadly, oftentimes treats God like a plaster. One does not think about a plaster when he is alright. He only searches for it when he has a wound to nurse and patch up. Likewise he turns to God only when he is in trouble.

At times man thinks of God as a vending machine. When he puts in coins he gets what he specifically wants. Likewise he expects to throw up a prayer and get what he specifically wants from God. When he does not receive answers to his prayers he rants and raves and throws verbal punches at God, just as he would punch the vending machine to see if a can of drink will drop out.

At other times, he treats God as a policeman. He will keep all the laws and avoid getting into trouble. He does not step in the way of the policeman and also does not have a need to have a relationship with him. He is a proud citizen who keeps law and order and condemns the law breakers.  Likewise he tries to keep all the commandments rigidly to avoid going to hell. He is happy and proud of his uprightness and is unable to tolerate someone who breaks the commandments. Otherwise he has no personal relationship with God.

Man also treats God as a jackpot machine. He takes a gamble by putting all the money he can get hold of and puts it in expecting to get lucky and strike rich. Even after losing several times, he tries again and again to try his luck. But eventually when he loses all his money and possessions he goes into deep depression. Likewise when he expects God to work a miracle in his life, and when the miracle does not occur he still keeps going back faithfully several more times to receive a miracle. When the miracle does not happen he gets disillusioned, blames God and gives up his belief in God. This happens because he does not have a relationship with God.

Only a man who realizes that he cannot live without God just as he cannot live without oxygen, only a man who realizes that he cannot be refreshed without God just like he cannot be refreshed without water and only a man  who understands the importance of building up his relationship with God just as he builds up his relationship with his beloved will be able to live in a totally blissful state without fear, with complete trust in God.

He will seek God at all times praise and worship Him. He will be so close to God that he will train his ears to hear God's voice. He will train his eyes to see like God sees. He will train His heart to feel as God feels. His prayer will not be selfish nor manipulative. He will pray for his needs but will spend more time praying for others and interceeding for lost souls. He will pray for miracles but will be able to abide in Him and trust him till the miracle happens in God's time. He will be able to accept God's will and respect God's timing even if no miracles occur. God's Word will be his daily bread. He will not leave home without feeding his soul.

To this man, God is not a plaster, not a vending machine, not a policeman and not a jackpot machine. God becomes real. A person with Whom he can have constant and continuous relationship with. God becomes the oxygen for his body, soul and spirit without Whom he can never ever live.

Who is God to you and me? Let us reflect!

Mary Augustine
     03/06/14