“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8).
In the scriptures we are constantly reminded to keep our pursuit of God connected to our daily interactions with those around us. Reliable answers to our questions about God cannot always be found through philosophical investigation alone. We have to bring our mindfulness to work with us and incorporate it into our interactions with other human beings. It is in giving and receiving love that truth has the best chance of surfacing and winning our trust.
In matters related to God, there is an interesting “back and forth” between us Thinking and our doing. Of course, right action requires right thinking, and we must never forget the primacy of God’s Word in determining right conduct. But there is also a sense in which right thinking requires right action. Our thinking and our action need each other.
By living a slightly more solid life, common people find God more easily than more sophisticated people (Mark 12:37; 1 Corinthians 1:26). They may lack philosophical acumen, but down-to-earth people know one thing: they know about the real, the practical, the everyday Love. They know how to love the God they have not seen because they know how to love other people they have loved to pass seen. And this is consistent with John’s statement, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20)
Suppose I have been personally troubled over some deep question related to God. It is entirely appropriate – indeed it is necessary – that I search the scriptures carefully and that I spend considerable time reflecting on this matter. But let’s say that after long diligence in study, thought, and even prayer, I am still confused. My neighbor can’t mow his grass because he needs to at the bedside of his wife who is dying of cancer. There is at least some possibility that the answers I did not find in the library will come to me in the toolshed as I prepare to do for my neighbor what he wants me to do for him.
“He who wishes to see the living God face to face must seek Him not in the empty sky of his mind, but in human love” (Fyodor Dostoevsky).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
