Oh, man. There’s so much here, thanks to the famed actor and former Christian, that I don’t know where to start. So let me do this in point form.
- Does God have an ego? Followers of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God) believe the ancient writers who said humanity is created in the image of God. For me, that includes having emotions. So it does include an ego.
Consider the basics of following Jesus: God created humanity. Humanity turned its back on God. The result was a horrifying history of war, rape, bigotry, violence, insecurity, sexism, ageism, intolerance, environmental degradation and so much more. Through this, God continued to doggedly pursue us (out of incredible LOVE) and invite back into His family.
He even offered His Son as a gift to anyone willing to accept it, to claim Jesus as Lord & Saviour and have their “sins” forgiven and spend eternity with their creator.
- Forced to declare that God is “the best”?? Uh, the best over what? Other gods? These days, those “gods” are sex, money, power, cruise ship vacations, bigger flat-screen TVs. You get the idea. All these meaningless “gods” will disappear as soon as this life ends.
Now, if you believe there is nothing beyond this life, then what I’ve typed here is ridiculous. But I don’t believe you’re on this website and reading this blog as an accident. Give it some thought….
- So much of what Brad Pitt and many others are thinking comes from a very limited knowledge of the Big Picture. Brad can’t see what the creator and master of time, space and the universe sees. That also applies to me. And to YOU.
Can we trust all our thoughts about spiritual things? If you believe this life isn’t all there is to your existence, can you trust what seems right to your limited brain today? I know where I stand on this; that’s why I set aside what *might* be sensible according to this broken world and trust something — SOMEONE — bigger and smarter than me. My creator.
Finally, I texted the meme above to Ross Carkner, my wise friend and pastor. Here are his thoughts:
“There is a big difference between God making himself known and saying you must acknowledge Him. Once God is known, you simply cannot unring that bell … and once you understand that no other ‘god’ compares, it’s hard not to profess His greatness.
“God has made himself known, not for ego’s sake, but for ours … to see Him clearly is to know our need of him … that a relationship with Him is for our benefit, not His. God knows who He is; it’s us who are in need of rediscovering who we were always meant to be. There is no question that people have lost their way and themselves in the process.”
If you’ve somehow sensed that you’ve lost your way, maybe the ideas in this blog will help you connect back to yourself. And your creator. What do you think? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 