Did God Get Bored?

Did God get bored? This question has come up from time to time in regards to God creating us. If God is eternal…what was he doing before He created us? Did He get bored one day and decide to start a new project? There are a lot of things that are assumed when questions like this are asked. Last week I talked about God being the Creator…creating from nothing and how this sheds some light on the mystery of God. My hope is that through unpacking these questions (or mullinating on them as Dan would call it) we will catch another glimpse of the mystery of God.

What is eternity? Some would say that eternity is a limitless amount of time. With this definition there is a lot of room for boredom within the realms of eternity. This definition also opens the door for questions about our eternity. Another way of defining eternity is: Timelessness, without time, outside of time. I feel like this is a better definition because it is something that we cannot fully comprehend.

What would it be like to simply exist? To have no tomorrow? No yesterday? To live in the eternal now? Boredom couldn’t be defined because it would not exist. I don’t know if this helps explain why God created us but it helps us see that we weren’t created out of boredom. If God did create us because He was bored one day then He probably wouldn’t care much about what happened to us. We would just be another 2nd grade school project thrown together with colored tissue paper and some Elmer’s Glue and tossed after it started falling apart three and a half weeks after creation.

When the world started falling apart, because of us running away from our creator, God didn’t cast us off. He wrote His story all around us. He made things beautiful for us. He provided for us. He loved us. When we did everything we could to run from Him, He kept on loving us. He even went as far to make Himself as one of us to show us how to live. We repaid Him by killing Him in our deep refusal to have true life. He didn’t create us out of boredom…if He did we wouldn’t still be here.

I’m not sure if this opens up any windows into the mystery of God…maybe it makes Him more mysterious. I am not real sure why a God so amazing and powerful, who lives in the ever present now, would create time for us to live in, provide so much for us, when we’re going to turn around and throw it back in His face. That, to me, makes a mysterious God even more amazing…and I’m glad He did it all for me, not because He was bored but because He is love.

Dependence

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1. This verse has been on my mind over this past week. Though the mystery of God is something that we’ll never fully understand, it is amazing how, through His Word, we are given glimpses of His face to better understand who He is…and in turn, better understand who we are and even why we are.

So…this verse has been on my mind a lot this week. I memorized Genesis 1:1 as a child. I’ve reverted back to it when asked if I had any scripture memorized. I’ve even used it as a joke to clarify that baseball is in the Bible because “In the Big Inning…God created.” As I was reading the Confessions of Augustine earlier in the week his musings about the mystery of God found in this verse stirred thoughts in me.

I can’t say I know much about building but I’m going to take a shot in the dark and assume that you probably start with a foundation. Maybe you need to even start before the foundation and pick out a good location for the foundation. Before doing that maybe there are other things to put in place first. What amazes me about the mystery of God is that Genesis didn’t say, “In the beginning God checked out the best universal real estate and then got to work.” What does that have to do with the mystery of God?

There are a number of questions that surround this verse: If God created from nothing, who created God? Did God get bored one day and then decided to create us…making us objects of His boredom rather than objects of His affection? These are questions often asked by those who are searching and should be treated carefully. I would like to go into these at a later time but not right now. What I would like to focus on is the mystery of God as THE Creator.

With no foundation, God laid the foundation of the heavens and the earth. All things were then created within the realms of that which was first created as a foundation. Nothing can be created that has not been created. God created me. God created you. The very air I breathe is because God created.

The first breath of God’s Word found in Genesis 1:1 paints the picture of dependence on God. From the very beginning, God has wanted us to understand that we were created in dependence on He who created. We find ourselves sprinting in the direction of deep independence...only going to God when we cannot do it ourselves. We try to create ourselves delving deeper into dependence on what our own hands bring to the table. The better we understand God as Creator the better understanding we’ll have of what God created us for…a relationship of dependence.

Little White Box

This past Thursday Night was the kickoff of our Thursday Night for the Master. Great things are going to happen. Lives will be touched. People will grow. And the family at Northview will be changed. Jim started us off with a challenge from Isaiah 42:18, “Forget the former things” and followed it up with, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” – Ephesians 3:20-21. With these two passages, the mood for outreach was set at Thursday Night for the Master.

Have you ever gotten a song stuck in your head that simply drives you up a wall? I get one from time to time. There for a while I was walking around with arms up singing, “If I were a rich man.” Over the past day or so I’ve had an old Vacation Bible School song stuck in my head. You probably remember it. “If I had a little white box to put my Jesus in, I’d take Him out and *Kiss*Kiss*Kiss* and share Him with a friend.”

I used to love that song as a kid…I think because I got to say “Bash his face” when I talked about taking the Devil out of his box. As I’ve thought more and more about this song I’ve began to wonder how big my “Little White Box” is. Ten years ago, my box wasn’t as big as it was five years ago and my box has grown even larger since. As Brothers and Sisters around tables Thursday night, ideas started to flow concerning how we would reach those around us who do not know the Relationship with God that we cherish so much.

The Jesus I began to see wasn’t coming from any kind of box. The Jesus generating the thoughts of evangelism Thursday night couldn’t be contained in a box. The Jesus that was being talked about Thursday night was a Jesus that can do immeasurably more than all we can imagine. The “Little White Box” is beginning to disappear and we’re going to start seeing imaginable things.

Here’s the question. How big is your box right now? What will it take to get you out of it and experience the “power that is at work within us?” Plant your seed and let God’s power make it grow into something immeasurably more than all we imagine.

Intentional Potential

Last weekend I had the awesome opportunity to walk among great people in our nation’s Capitol. Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Washington, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Heroes of WWI, WWII, and Vietnam, and many others. What amazes me about these great people is their incredible potential lived out in amazing ways. How does one come to live out this kind of potential?

When in his late 20’s, Benjamin Franklin made a list of thirteen virtues that he would dedicate his life to live by. Franklin was a leading author and printer, comedian, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat. It is quite evident that the acorn of Franklin’s potential developed him into an oak of a man. What we take from a man like him is not only did his define his potential through his list of virtues but he then lived them out. Some may say he was destined to do great things. Who am I that I’ll become like him?

That very question is what amazes me about The Greatest Generation (WWII Veterans). They were all simple people who saw what needed to be done and did it. They defined their potential was defined in different ways through their upbringing. What really gets me when I watch interviews of “Heroes of WWII” is that they do not see themselves as “Heroes.” They saw what needed to be done and they did it.

Jim Smith, glad he’s back in the office, keeps running around, talking about being intentional. He keeps trying to convince me, and anyone who will listen, that we have to be “Intentional Christians.” I think he might be on to something. Dan and I were talking about the idea of potential and I brought Jim up and almost simultaneously we came out with “Intentional Potential.” Not that we would give Jim any credit to a great idea, but we need to be intentional with the potential that is going to drive us as Christians.

How do we define it? A good list is found in Colossians 4:2-6: Devoted to Prayer, Watchful, Thankful, Be Wise in Action, Be Opportunists, and be Gracefully Salted Conversationalists. Let these be your Six Virtues for the Intentional Potential of a Christian. No matter what your age is, let’s define the greatness God has called us to and live up to this Intentional Potential.

Evangelistic Like a Dog

It has been three weeks since I've posted anything...some of you have been asking where I've been. Well...I guess you could say that my blogging voice had gone mute for a time. I couldn't find the words to share some of the things on my mind so I simply went mute. I wouldn't say that my voice has fully come back but here it is.

- Ryan




I have a dog…his name is Zeus. There are speculations as to how I came to own him but he’s been with me for about seven months now. I have only lived in my house for about nine months so Zeus has been with me for most of my time there. From time to time I’ve let him run loose in the neighborhood because it seems to be the thing to do where I live…and he was chewing through everything I put around his neck and running loose anyway. In the past nine months, I’ve only been able to get to know my next door neighbors just a little bit. Relationships weren’t really coming along that quickly till Zeus joined my household.

As I’ve ran into people around the neighborhood I’ve come to find out that they had already met Zeus and had fallen in love with him. A lot of my neighbors even have nicknames for him. I was contemplating finding a new home for Zeus because of how little I am home but my neighbor talked me out of it because their family loves him so much. I’ve met more of my neighbors and they all seem to already have a good relationship with Zeus.

We’ve been talking about evangelism a lot around the office in preparation for the things Jim is going to be doing with the congregation here. One of the major aspects of evangelism is relationships…genuine relationships…with people. It seems to be a lot easier to travel around the world, across the country, or even across town to tell others about a relationship with God. We often find it difficult to walk across the lawn or street and build a relationship with our neighbor.

Though I don’t agree with many of his methods, Zeus has quickly gotten to know many of the families in my neighborhood. The good side off all of this is that he’s been my foot in the door to getting to know everyone. Last Sunday evening, Jim challenged us to be “intentional” with our lives…to be “Intentional Christians.”

Take a moment to sit down, think of all the good relationships you have. How many of them are Christians? What percentage of them are not Christians? The reality is we tend to stick close to the people that make us feel comfortable. Be intentional. When you go outside to get the paper and your neighbor is standing there doing the same…don’t simply say “morning” and then head back inside the house. Strike up conversation. Start walking your neighborhood with your spouse and meet people. If your kids play in the backyard…cast your nets on the other side…and go play with them in the front yard.

I may not do all the things that Zeus does when he meets people but it is completely obvious that he wants to meet people. Let’s start being Intentional Christians. Let’s build relationships. Let’s bring them home to meet our Master.

Make Like a Tree

I love the theater! There is something about going to a play that ignites your imagination in a way that a movie simply cannot. When a play is done well…you find yourself in the middle of it…living it…becoming one with the characters. They capture you…almost like being a child again. This weekend has been full of plays for me. Thursday night I was taken into the Land of Oz by Amy Vannoy and the cast from the North Iredell Drama Department.

I am proud of my Amy. She had one of the most important parts in the play. When she first appeared on stage she was a tree…the best tree in the forest. Later the Land of Oz was brought to life with her dancing. I don’t know who the leads were…they did a good job…but you can’t have a forest without trees…you can’t have Oz without the dancers. Amy did a great job in her play…and was one of the most important parts.

To put on any kind of production is a lot of work. Everyone has to play their part. If there weren’t trees we might think the Cowardly Lion was in the desert. If no one made the props and there were no Oz Dancers…we might find Oz to be a boring place. Life is found, not in the main characters, but in the people and things surrounding the main characters. They give them setting. They bring them character. They provide them…life.

There is a Shakespeare quote I like from As You Like It, “All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts.” If this quote is true, I personally think we should have more special effects, theme music, and dance numbers but there is a good point to be made from this quote. In the Church, everyone must play his/her part. Everyone has different gifts…or roles…according to Romans 12:6-8.

Some people’s roles are more up front. Others are off to the side. There are people that are never seen but really are the ones that keep everything going. The important thing is that we all have to play the Role God has given us. In your church I am sure there are plenty of ministries for you to be a part of. If you are not sure what your role is find a ministry leader and they can help you find your role is this production of life. We need to be people of purpose. We need to do are part as best we can to bring life to this production. I guess I’ll end this with a quote from the great theologian, my Secratary, Liane Mullins, “Know your role!”

Transformers

This past week I went on a Prayer Retreat at a Monastery outside of Charleston, where they allow ministers to get away for a time and get revived, refocused, and refilled. My prayer life has been lacking for some time so I wanted to put my major focus for the week on my communication with God. I came back with a number of things from my time there but I quickly want to share some thoughts about relationship with God.

We were created for a relationship with God. There is no denying that. The hard part…at times…is figuring out how that relationship is going to grow. Throughout the week I kept coming back to John 4:23 where the “…true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth.” As I sat around sitting and thinking on that verse I began to realize that I spend a lot of my time living in the “truth side of God.” What I mean by this is that, if you asked me to write a paper about “Who God is,” I could write a lot of great stuff for you. I’ve got the information side of God down.

I am setting out on the journey to figure out how to connect my head with my spirit…to where my spirit and the truth I possess both are in the relationship with God. I feel like Augustine captures this pretty well in his reflections on the Lord’s Supper. He talks about how Jesus is Bread that, no matter how much you eat, will never vanish. As you eat of this Bread, Augustine says, you continue to eat to the point where you are so filled with Jesus that you no longer exist but that Christ has transformed in you. I find these thoughts amazing since we are constantly being called to be like Christ.

So what does this have to do with the spirit side of the relationship with God? When you take the truth of God, i.e. “…your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36b), and apply it to your life, i.e. “Be merciful…” (Luke 6:36a), you are then transformed by the merciful nature of God…to where you are merciful. This causes the truth of God to then be lived out through your spirit. Here is my challenge for all of us: Make a list of the characteristics of God/Jesus. Look at the list and see where you need to be transformed (do not help your neighbor decipher this unless they ask for your help).

God will continue to call us to a deeper relationship with Him. As you grow with Him, you’ll grow to be more like Him. I’m not sure which comes first…will we understand God’s love first when we begin to love others like He loves or will we better love others when we find God’s love inside of us first? Let’s continue to be transformed by Him in this relationship so we can be better worshipers of Him in spirit and in truth…then we can tackle Luke 10:27, “Love the Lord your God with all your…heart…soul…strength…mind,” and go deeper and deeper into a transforming relationship with our Father.