Contemplative Bible Reading

1 John 3:1b (New Living Translation)

But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.

God is…let the world fill in the blanks here. Vengeful is often one of the answers; so is hateful. No wonder these folks don’t recognize me as a loving person who follows after God. They don’t understand God. Or maybe that’s just my excuse. How well do I represent God? Maybe they don’t recognize that I am of God because I don’t represent God well.

Now we have the surface items out of the way. Let’s see if we can delve under the surface. Fill in the blank with one word to describe God. What a nonsensical exercise. Let’s summarize the Creator of all with one word. How arrogant can I be?

How about this one for God:

God is beyond my comprehension and description.

How about this one for any person:

God’s creation is beyond my comprehension and description.

Hmmm. Now what do I do? I really dislike the second one. I mean, maybe I don’t comprehend God, but I sure have figured out you, buddy. Or have I? Or should I?

I have a headache. My ego is crushed. God, please help me through this day, today. Help me to love my fellow man. And sometimes stop me from trying to figure it all out and figure out every person—every part of your creation—I see.