Tangible

I am not a visual person, nor do I have an ounce of artistic ability in my body. My stick man even looks like a very bad attempt at modern art. I love words though! Yet, I am not one of those people who pictures what I read as in an actual image. For me it is more of an idea, thought, something unseen captured. Try as I might, and I have tried VERY hard for a VERY long time, I cannot picture God. Is He really on the throne of grace? What does that look like? Does He sit on the seat of mercy? Well, of course He does. Scripture is quite clear on that. I just cannot picture it. Is God huge? Like literally would this planet or even galaxy fit in His palm? Is He a nice 6 ft 232 lbs? Are we literally made in His image?

When I pray, I try to get a picture of Him. Prayer time is supposed to be our one on one time with Him. I try to conjure up something glorious and magnificent. I describe Him with as many words as I can list (long list my friends). The image will not come. The attempt makes me feel like I don't know Him. At this point, I switch gears and direct my attention to Jesus. I have watched enough Nat Geo to conjure up a pretty good mental picture of a Middle Eastern man. The gospels also tell us the life of Jesus. I can see Him, plus I know His life story. My prayers now become much more personal, informal, intimate. Maybe it should not be that way, but for me it is. After awhile of directing my prayers to Jesus, I feel like I am neglecting the Almighty. It seems my faith is weak and my unbelief is too big. So, I plunge back into prayerful dialogue with Holy. At least Jesus is Holy within humanity...more relatable.

I believe the above thoughts, plus my love of words, letters, grammar, language, is why the Bible is so vital to me spiritually. If you were to ask me to name my two favorite things in school, number one would be sentence diagramming (which we need to get back to before the whole planet is incapable of writing), and number two would be conjugating verbs in multiple languages. I studied English (of course), German, Spanish, and French. Just the thought of -0, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, -an feels like I took a sedative....aaaahhh. The Bible; however, is not just bookcovers, pages, words. It is God breathed. It is holy. It is alive. It changes the lives and hearts of those who read and understand. It is prophecy. It is fulfillment. It is guidance.

I can hold the Bible. I can lay my hand on the page and wonder what the words will do for me today. Jesus is the Word made flesh. Sometimes, I need to touch to believe. Sometimes I need affirmation so not to doubt. Sometimes, well a lot of the time, I need to see it in black and white. Scripture does all those things.

Maybe you are reading this and think I'm crazy and in need of a decade of good ol' VBS (which I do by the way). Maybe though, you are like me and are somewhat overwhelmed by the Ancient of Days. So much so, you are losing that sense of intimacy...the personal in what should be the most personal relationship you have. Hold your Bible. Read it. Take a nap with it opened and covering your face. Let the Word of God soak into the very fabric of who you are. While I can't see God, I know He is patient, oh so patient. He will let you spend every day, all your days, being changed just at the right speed for you by His Holy Word.

God created you with a certain make-up. I believe He did that for many reasons, one being in how we communicate with Him...musically, visually, literally, in service. Don't discard the power of communicating with God. We could be back in the days of Leviticus when we would have to have a priest as a mediator. There is no more mediator. There is you and God via prayer, praise, worship, obedience, and HIS WORD. The more I read, the more that is revealed. One day, I know, I will blown away by the big picture and every tiny detail in between.