God as Presence

A very interesting discussion today with fellow spiritual seekers (in a Christian venue) leads me to post this blog entry, again in the interest of encouraging thought and conversation about topics at hand.

Someone asked, does God perform miracles independent of human effort, or does God get God’s work done through people (and other components of creation)? Leading to the question, what constitutes a miracle? My thought is that “miracle” is a human word for happenings that appear to be a departure from the norm. And the norm is defined by events that are predictable according to our experience. We also tend to think of miracles in a positive light. Thus a destructive event may not qualify. When we do this we may take God out of natural disasters. Or we may choose to see the disaster as the application of God's judgment. I'm inclined to look at such things in a holistic sense that attributes to God – the supreme creative entity, by whatever name – as the origin/source of a self-sustaining system, intentionally created to be such. Hurricanes and tsunamis are part of the created order, neither good nor bad in intent, just the way a planet works. Can we attribute such things to circumstance? Depends on how one defines “circumstance.” As opposed, say, to “providence.” One meaning “chance” (unintentional), the other meaning “God-done” (intentional). (I invite readers to elaborate on these definitions, including re-definition, if desired.)

For God to intercede in human affairs seems to me to suggest a capricious God, favoring some over others depending on lots of subjective factors, quantitative in human terms for the most part. Rather, I see God as a constant and continuing presence – 24/7/365. At the risk of metaphoric inexactitude, God might be likened to the current in an electrical circuit, but one that cannot be turned off. Just as a radio, tv, light, etc., is charged, energized, brought to life to perform the functions for which it was created, I too can better achieve my potential by keeping my switch in the "on" position. My switch is under my control.

When something happens that appears to be “providential,” someone is responding to the surge of energy that comes with having their switch “on.” It may be me, or others. And something good comes of it. I can easily think of times I’ve had my switch “on,” and many when I’ve had it “off.” So, I don’t think of God responding to me incidentally. It’s totally the other way around. In my faith tradition (Christianity) I am encouraged to keep my switch in the “on” position. This could also be likened to singing in harmony with a choir. When harmony prevails, something beautiful happens. When I sing off key, things get chaotic.

This leads to all sorts of other interesting questions, such as: “Does God have a plan? If so, how can I know what it is, and particularly how it applies to me?”

So … care to join the conversation? I'd love to hear what you have to say.