Thursday Meditation - Experiencing God

Experiencing God

Luke 24:13-35

Several years ago, Lifeway bookstore carried a book called Experiencing God.  The intent of the book was to help those who have been exposed to God to experience the wonders of God through daily reading and writing.  For many the book was an exposure to God rather than an experience of God.  Yes, there is a difference between being exposed to God and the experience of God.  In the course of our lifetime, many of us have been or will be exposed to more things than we experience.  For instance, on TV we are exposed to violent crimes, sexually explicit videos, degrading of women and exploitation of people private lives.  We have been exposed to more negative images than positive.  Everywhere we turn we are exposed to death, selfishness, hatred, abuse, illness, wickedness, greed and deceit.  Not all exposure is negative but they overshadow the positive. 

The positive exposure in life composes of love, unity, self respect and obedience.  It is the positive exposure many of us want to gain our experience in life.  These exposures help shape and define who we are today.  When we encounter people who have been exposed to negative ways of thinking and it’s always about self, they often harbor bitterness and resentment towards those who are positive.  This reminds me of a sermon I heard Dean Kinney my systematic theology professor say.  He said that a strong person encourages and a weak person controls.  When we move beyond exposure to God to experience God we learn we are not the center of all things.  We come to the reality of God’s presence in our lives because of our faith in God.  Yes, there are many who doubt God exist but when we experience a walk with God in the valley of life we experience and witness God’s true love.  God’s true love can be received if we are willing to open our hearts, becoming humble and trusting in God fully.  It is our experience of God that provides a witness of God’s love to a world who only has an exposure to God. 

Prayer: God we ask you to move us from exposure of you to experiencing you.  We want our life to be a living witness as one who experiences a deep relationship with you. Amen.