The Quilt Maker

“And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:35)

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28)

When I first fell away from the faith it was merely a slight psychological loss for me. I loved God with most of my mind for sure, but had little experience with any real relationship.

Like a boy who needs to learn how to ride a bicycle, you cannot help him much by explaining to him the nature of weight distribution, velocity, and so forth. No, we can only ride that bike, by riding the bike!

Likewise my knowledge and appreciation for theology and scripture could never hope to sustain me. It is why I was so fast to turn to many other religions and spiritualities.

It wasn’t until I began a real prayer life and an active talking relationship with God did I discover the secret of Christianity.

Jesus is, in fact, Lord and very much alive and real.

So why is God hidden?

If he loves us why isn’t he in the sky pronouncing his plan for all to see?

I suppose that would change things. There could be an intellectual argument made that God would have stripped many of us of our precious gift of free will. I suppose an evident God would begrudge us to acknowledge divinity. That sort of knowledge would frighten more than inspire. But I think I have an even more common sense and experiential answer.

It relates to my own son and how I understand the need to let him grow. I used to spend more time dressing him than I do now since I've pulled away –under his protest- to let him dress alone. When I refuse to dress him it’s not because I don’t know how to dress a child or that I’m not inherently willing. But now that he dresses himself I understand that I’m doing right by him.

I’m raising him.

The bible tells us God has a plan for us. Like any adolescent we are also being raised, nurtured, for an eventual maturity and if you think God showing up in fiery pillar of fire would have changed your heart you’d be in opposition to thousands of years of experience. The Jews frequently recorded amazing revelations of God as he led them through the persecutions of the Babylonians, Canaanites, Assyrians, and more.

Yet for men who saw God, who understood God, many still did not love God.

Though there were the faithful, it was no guarantee that God’s appearance would change the heart.

For it was both the Old Testament prophet Isaiah and Jesus who proclaimed that “This people honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Both Matthew 15:8 & Isaiah 29:13)

When we refuse to believe in God we actively begin to work against him. Without even realizing it we become offended by the cross.

The apostles understood how offensive the cross was and the uncomfortable result that many had around talk of Jesus Christ, and they frequently wrote to help our hearts deal with the natural affront we have for Christianity. Jesus added…

“And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” Matthew 11:6

But God has an amazing ability to take every vice, every negative, every obstacle and transform it into strength, love, and opportunity. Like a quilt maker who smoothes out every wild strand and crumpled string, God weaves the imperfections of our lives into a tapestry of unblemished glory.

Yet it is in faith that this endowment can work in our lives otherwise we continue to refuse God, run from God, and without even realizing it, hate God.

“My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

So the question clarifies into an important crossroad.

Why is Jesus Lord? Why not Buddha? Muhammad? Or the tens of millions of Gods in Hindu? Why don’t all roads lead to heaven?