The Force asks \"Where are you?\"

Albert Einstein once said, \"I want to know [God's] thoughts; the rest are details.\" His words declare a lofty feat, possibly in earnestness, possibly in arrogance. But it is a quote that can set us thinking.

I wonder if humanity's search for God is often most largely about humanity--what we want, what we need, what we feel we deserve, what we think God must be like. And we are often quite proud of ourselves for searching, for having an inquisitive personality, an openness to spirituality. But if the one we search for is the sovereign, omnipresent God, isn't this line of thought somewhat ridiculous? Have we ever been out of his/her reach or his/her sight? I often wonder how much of our searching is more or less insignificant details. While we are disagreeing about the kind of God we want to find or the ways we prefer to find Him/Her/It, we have already been found. In our quest for God, even as we credit ourselves for exploring, how much is more accurately God's searching for us? There is little talk of God's search for humanity, but isn't He the reason there is talk of God at all?

The Scriptures of the Bible say that from the very beginning of time God has pursued the human heart, calling out, \"Where are you?\" when we have strayed, \"What do you want?\" as we stand grumbling before Him, and \"Whom are you looking for?\" even as we search. In fact, \"Where are you?\" is the first question God asks of man and woman in Scripture. (See Genesis 3:9.) Sensing God's presence after eating what was forbidden, Adam and Eve hid among the trees. And God asked Adam, \"Where are you?\"

Rest assured, if the God we seek and hide from is the one whose breath brought dust to life, it was not for God's sake that He posed the question. You and I need to be asked.

One of my favorite scenes in literature is in The Last Battle of C.S. Lewis's Narnian tales. Though many had never seen him, faith in Aslan was common in Narnia, whereas, men of other lands followed Tash. But growing tired of contradicting claims and hypocritical followers, the dwarfs decide to declare defiantly, \"The dwarfs are for the dwarfs,\" rejecting belief in anything but themselves, refusing to answer to anyone, and renouncing everything they cannot see. Later, the Last Battle is over. Aslan has won, and the scene has been transformed from a dirty stable into the beautiful Narnia. Yet curiously, the dwarfs sit hunched as if they are still in the stable. When asked to stand up and admire the sun and the sky, scenes greener and truer than anyone had ever seen, a dwarf replies, \"How in the name of all humbug can I see what ain't there?\"(1)

I have often wondered if it was this Narnian scene Lewis had in mind when he said, \"I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it but because, by it, I see everything else.\"(2)

The intensity of God's search for humanity and his desire for us to see clearly are illumined in the questions He puts before us. \"Where are you?\" asks the Lord. \"Who do you say that I am?\" asks Christ. His questions penetrate all of our hiding spots and pierce the self-deception that blinds us from seeing God and ourselves in the light of truth. \"Do you love me?\" he asks. \"Do you want to be made well?\" To cut ourselves off from God's probing words is to blind ourselves from life itself.

If today, you stood up wherever you are in your place in life, where are you? Are you hiding? Running? Are you blinded to the truth because it is not the truth you want to see? Or maybe the words of the hymnist ring true for your life:

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand'ring from the fold of God;
He to rescue me from danger,
Brought me to his precious blood.(3)

There is a point in God's search where the next move depends on your answer. His questions elicit a response. Where are you?



(1) C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle. (Collier Books: New York, 1956), 144.
(2) C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory. (Sans Francisco: Harper, 1980), 140.
(3) John Wyeth, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.

Very interesting Master Tom. This certainly does ring a bell. In difficult predicaments mankind very often laments: where is God when we need Him most? How can a so called good God let something like this happen?... . Because we live in our world, with our experiences... the thought never seems to enter our minds that it is us in our freedom who have decided to walk another path. It is illogical to say that God (who by definition is infinite) can turn away, leave someone in a small vacuum (a Godless place). This would mean He is making Himself a little bit less than infinite. Just as much as it is illogical to say that a person can walk to a place away from Him. This too would mean He is less than infinite. It would seem to me that the issue is rather a breakdown in communication. Communication being a vital part of our identity; who we are to ourselves and others. So if we refuse to communicate with God we become strangers to Him and ourselves. It is we who have lost our identity and it is Him who is trying to find it again.

Great Topic!!!

When one thinks of the infinite idea of God and how vast that concept is within faith, how just the same can be thought of when it comes to the Force. The human mind can think of infinite but the full understanding is just that..... Infinite....