Awe, sheer awe.

QUICK SUMMARY:  Inspiration and motivation are our starting points.  What we are inspired by will shape who we will be, what we will do and what we will have.  Thus it is imperative, and powerful, to look deep within and see what it is that most inspires us.  And I argue that if God Himself is your biggest passion, you will go the farthest anyone can think of.  To have anything other than God as your central source of awe is to partake in the journey of life only partially.

But our society, at least in America, has painted a faded, cracked, black-and-white, uninspiring picture of God.  I have chosen to start afresh, and let the Scriptures paint the picture of God.  And because of that, I marvel.

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From the last post, we know that I believe our lives are influenced by our motivations.  Change someone's motivation, and you will change their attitude, behavior and, eventually, circumstances.  And of course, the Bible teaches that if our driving motivation is to have a relationship with God, then impactful and down right stunning changes will occur in all aspects of our lives and in the lives of those around us.  Antoine de St. Expury says it nicely,

"If you want to build a ship, don't go out and collect a bunch of people and assign them tasks; rather, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."

The ship is your life.  The sea is God.  If you build your ship and keep it in the docks, what good is it?  If you build your ship to navigate spiritual waters, but do so only out of obligation or self-interest, what good is it?  But if you first become passionate about the ocean that is God and get in awe, sheer awe of His greatness, vastness and majesty, then and only then will your ship become a true work of art, a fine piece of craftsmanship.  It will be so because you are motivated by the greatest thing in existence:  God.  The greater the inspiration, the greater the work.  (Not to mention that the Holy Spirit Himself will come and help you design and build the ship that is your life.)

It would be an honor to be able to introduce you to the Ocean.  So let me share just a few drops.  But first, stop reading right now.  Talk to Papa and ask Him to open your eyes and show you the wonder of who He really is.  If right now you do not have a tight, real relationship God, then let this be the beginning.  Talk to Him like you would a friend you respect and feel comfortable with.  You don't need to use Thee's and Thou's.  Just use your heart to find the right words.  Think on it, do it, and then let God inspire you and enlighten you as you read on.

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Names.  Names are key, because they tell us what something is, or tell us something about the namesake.  In the past, I've done a longer breakdown of the names of God, but let me just highlight a few here. It's a good place to start.

The two most common names for God in the Bible are אלהים and  יהוה, which in English are pronounced "eloheem" and "yahweh" or "jehovah" (depending on who you talk to).   Elohim is the plural of the word "el", which means 'the strong, mighty one'.  Thus Elohim literally means 'the ones who are strong and mighty'.  It is a hint of the triune nature of God, the Trinity (Father, Son and Spirit).  Yahweh means "the self-existent one".  It shows God's eternality.  He has always just simply existed.  Our minds cannot comprehend that, and we should leave it that way, letting it drive us to awe.  In the Greek, the word κυριος is frequently used.  Pronounced in English, it is "kyurios", and means 'supreme master'.  In the Aramaic, one of my favorites is אבא, pronounced 'abba'.  It literally means "papa, daddy".  "Ab" is the Aramaic word for father, and thus abba would be a term of endearment and love that a child would use for his or her dad.  So taking just these few names for God, we get this picture:

God has mind-blowingly always existed.  And He has done so in a three-in-one way; it is almost impossible to fully understand what that means, but we can use the term Triune God to at least hint at it.  This Triune God is incomprehensibly powerful and is the supreme master of all things.  Let me repeat that, He is the supreme master of you and me and the entire universe, whether we submit readily or not.  And this ancient, eternal, powerful Master is also our loving, intimate, protecting Papa.  Take a moment to picture that combination of majesty and intimacy, awe and love.

The reality of who God is, is beginning to sink in and envelop me.  It brings upon me an awe and a sense of safety that I cannot ignore.  I must constantly remind myself of this.  For to change it in the least, to make Him less of a Papa or less of a Master is to bring about trouble, emptiness and confusion.  It is the Master & Papa picture that I feel best describes God, at least initially.  Let this be your first glimpse of the Ocean.  Over the next week, until the next post, sit on the shore of meditation and contemplation, and just look at the sparkling, unending waters.  Let God stir something up in you.  For a short while, don't worry about the details of your life-ship; don't worry about the rules and resources needed for sailing on the water.  Just, for right now, marvel at the potential, at the as-yet-untold opportunities that lie before you.

Each and every single one of you (and me!) have the chance to sit down and spend time with and be loved by and guided by our ultimate Papa and Master, the Creator of life.  For me, it is breath-taking.  And it is radically changing my priorities and perspective.  Instead of thinking that my life is the end-point of who I am, I now see that my life (my ship) is nothing more than a tool to draw closer to God.  This brings soul-soaring freedom and heart-beating fear at the same time for me.  But I know the freedom and soul will win out.  As long as I keep looking at God.  And marveling in awe, sheer awe.

Next week, (and I pray you will be marveling and in awe just like me), we will discuss what our Master and Papa did for us, specifically through our King and Best Friend, His Son Jesus.

Three last words:  awe, sheer awe.