“Concerning Our Portable God”
Judah was in exile in Babylon, and they wondered where God was. After all, had the LORD their God not dwelt in Jerusalem, in the temple? But now, they were a long way from home, a long way from their God. Jerusalem and the temple were in ruins.
There are times when we all probably feel that way at times: a long way from home, a long way from God. But are our feelings, were their feelings, reflections of reality? Feelings are real, but they do not always reflect reality.
The prophets of Judah and Israel were more about reality than they were about feelings. Certainly, the prophets had feelings, and those feelings often come out in their prophecies. But the prophets also realized—and taught—that the LORD God was not bound by our feelings.
God was also not bound by geography. The God who had created the whole of the universe was not about to be tied down to one location.
Now, before you say, “Well of course!” let me point out something: In the ancient Near East, the gods were almost always linked closely with particular locations. We sometimes fail to realize how radical Israel and Judah were at this point.
Ezekiel was one of the prophets of Judah. He was in exile in Babylon, along with many of the (now former leaders) of Judah. He was a priest, as well as a prophet. No doubt, he missed the temple a great deal.
But Ezekiel had a vision, and in that vision he was confronted with the portability of God.
“15Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. 16 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they went, they went in any of their four directionswithout turning as they went.” (English Standard Version)
How is with you and with me these days? Do we have a portable God, or do we have a “god” who is found only in a certain location?
And I’m not just asking about a geographical location. We often get stuck thinking that our God is stuck in a certain location, in more ways than simply geography. We need all kinds of portability, in order to experience God.
We need to cultivate temporal portability, for example. Too many of us say, “When I was in my teens (or twenties or thirties, or . . .), I was so spiritually alive. I had such a vivid sense of God’s presence in my life and my world. But now . . .”
You’re stuck. God isn’t.
We need to cultivate circumstantial portability. Many of us say, “When these were my life circumstances, I was so aware of God, but now . . .”
You’re stuck. God isn’t.
Being mired in our sludge takes many forms. However, whatever form it takes, it is all pretty sludgy.
One problem is that we all kind of like it when God is a local God. The problem is, God isn’t—local, that is. God is a portable God. The God of Ezekiel is a God who is with us, wherever we are.
God is faithful. However, God doesn’t stay put. God doesn’t necessarily transform where we are, at least not right away. But God is with us. And this portable God is a transforming presence.
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