SHOW YOURSELF!

WHERE ARE YOU?

          I was sitting on a park bench, a troubled, worried searcher, and mused dejectedly to myself, “…God, where are you?”  Then, I defiantly dared, “Show yourself!”  Anger and confusion breed some ugly offspring.  Add some pride and dishonesty into the mix, and the spawn are hellish.

          A thunderclap startled me and I looked up to see a bus go by with a movie billboard on its side that read, “God’s Not Dead”?!  I cynically spouted, “Is that the best you can do?”  I mumbled, “… just look around – all the evidence points to an absentee slum-lord, at best!  The confusion.  The evil.  The darkness.”

          Then I heard a small voice whisper, “…if I were NOT here, it would be far worse….”  I was jerked to full attention.  I questioned,  “Where did that come from?!”  I stood up and looked all around.  “OK, where are the TV cams?!” was my suspicion!  “… maybe it was those goobers from school?”  But, I saw nobody, except for couples strolling by and families tossing Frisbees.

          “Who are you looking for?!” echoed in my head.  I thought,  “I must be losing my mind….”  “No, you wanted to talk; so here I am…”  “This is not happening…”  “Sure it is!  But, nobody ever believes it when they do hear me.”  Within, I screamed, “Show yourself!”

          Then, I heard the voice again, “have you see the Indiana Jones movies?  Do you remember the scene where the Nazis opened the Ark of the Covenant?  That is not so far-fetched!”

 

          “Sure… God watches movies!  Come on now!”  I cynicized.  But, before I got the words out of my mouth, I heard, “… who do you think gave Spielberg his wonderful imagination?!”  and, then, “… your God is too small… Ha!!!” was added.

          “…get out of my head!  Show yourself!  Why won’t you show yourself?” I silently screamed.  I looked around, but nobody was staring at me. 

          “I have shown myself!  The creation screams, ‘Creator!’  the heavens declare my glory!  What do you children want, an ‘accident’ or the ‘Almighty’?!  And, the Christ was my best memo!  As He said, ‘… if you have seen me, you have seen Him…’  But, my child, you don’t listen.  Then, there is the Collection, the Writings.  If I wrote on the clouds, you would trivialize that too.  So many of you do not listen.  Some of you do not WANT to hear.  But, you are beginning to listen!” were the words I heard next.   Also, “…who do you think envisioned, designed, manufactured, winds and tweaks this ‘clock’?!  I see that it is your time to jump to the next quantum change.  Get ready!”

          “… you are creeping me out…” I muttered.  “Exactly!  You cannot handle the truth.  One day you will see me, be like me; but, for now, you cannot.”  “Why not?!”

          “Do you remember the first two, Adam and Eve?  I walked in the garden with them.  But, then they ran and hid!  Fear replaced their child-like feelings of family and friendship.  Oh, and my great one, Moses, he wanted to see me face to face.  Just a glimpse as I departed left him glowing in the dark!  Any more and he would have gone up like that bush!  Israel anxiously trembled at the foot of Sinai in a near panic.  My great one, Isaiah, fainted before my altar in dread and guilt.  The guards in Gethsemane went limp and fell to the ground when the Christ simply answered their question!  Ha!!!  Now, how do you think this will go with you?”

          He added “For now, remember the challenge to Thomas, and your blessing, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’  Soon enough, you WILL see me and be like me!”

 

          “What about those NDE’s? ...”

 

          Then, I came to myself.  My very heart burned within me.