In these days of dime-a-dozen blessers it’s difficult to navigate towards God and His greater calling for us. Superficial has become the new deep and many Christians find themselves moved by purveyors of cheap tricks at the expense of good old fashioned biblical principles that yield lasting results. After all who really wants to walk with God on a straight and narrow path which requires taking up a daily cross, being quick to listen and slow to speak, quick to forgive and slow to anger, who wants to be taken for granted, who wants to part with the energy it takes to sow seeds of substance, tending to them and reaping the harvest?

Finally who really wants to drop their guard low enough to let go and let God? Instead there’s a growing appetite for false prophets these days and they have taken make-believe to a whole new level, promoting religious ridiculousness and have His people eating it up like two for Tuesday pizza because we are misled by our self governance. Do we really know God for who He is? Because if we did there are so many things we would do differently.

Who is He?

The creator of the universe and all that is within it. He is the omnipresent All powerful being who imbued us with the makings of his awesomeness, gave us time and chance in which to live without imposing Himself on us and He extends more love and grace towards us than we will never know to do as humans. He is called many names like provider, healer, redeemer, giver of perfect peace, causer of cups to overflow, anointer of His sheep, lifter of feet lest they should dash upon rocks, banner in battle, lover of souls, author and finisher of our faith.

It all began by His word and the formless mass that was once the Earth began to take shape. God is the King of all those who call themselves kings and Lord of all those who dare to step up as lords in other words He is far above the petty runnings of our existence and He is not fascinated by what fascinates us. In the same token He is not moved as we are moved for His ways are not our ways, but He is sufficiently sensitive to us to reach into our lives and inspire us through each other. He raises the dead to show our dominion in life and He causes evil to come together for our good even when we don’t yet have the wherewithal to love and follow Him.

Why is it so hard getting to know Him?

It’s so hard getting to know Him because deep down inside we don’t really want to. We all know we ought to but somehow we just don’t and then carry around the guilt of missing the mark. I say we don’t really want to because I’ve seen how easily I get things done when I want to. I’ve had to learn over the years how to hack my “want-to” by understanding what causes my reluctance to in the first place and then negotiating it carefully and with humility towards myself in order to get on with it.

When it comes to God, have you ever had to spend time with someone you barely knew or liked but had to mark the register with or else there would be no eternal life for you? That’s basically Christian life today, people trying to shove the gospel down other people’s throats because the end is nigh. People benchmarking each other’s connectedness to the cross by the number of church gatherings they attend and how much they are giving monthly. At the risk of sounding politically incorrect I think this model of Christianity is unsustainable and we need to understand that Godliness comes from the inside out not from the outside in. This business of people faking it and judging others who can’t fake it as well as they do doesn’t work.

It is only God who can truly manifest himself through you. The reason we need a saviour is that we cannot do it on our own; there is not a single ounce of value that we could add onto the finished work of Christ. When we understand this, our quality of relationship with Him changes because we begin to conceptualize our position as that of need and His as the one who can meet this need. Suddenly we are more open to giving ourselves to Him whole heartedly and begin to do willingly what had previously been a grudging task.

When it is time for worship, we are not told to worship but do so automatically because it is a part of us and we cannot help but to lift his name. When it is time to grow we do not measure each other’s growth by petty parameters because each of us will be contributing in the special way that we were individually equipped to contribute in the grand scheme of the kingdom. Being about the Father’s business is greater than who did what, how and why. Being about His business brings healing where there was pain, it brings hope where it was lost and it brings home to those who do not have one.

One day when we are done trying to impress each other maybe we will take a moment to marvel at His creation in each other and love Him for it because He is worthy.

Sharon Rateiwa is a lover of art with a natural flair for the artistic.  When she isn’t sharing inspirational pieces with the world, she designs and performs as a singer and poet.  Sharon believes that we of God’s generation have a mandate to take up Godly arms in the fight for a meaningful existence.  She gives encouragement by sharing her own colourful encounters.