Formless

Deuteronomy 4:15 “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day."

One of my favorite philosophy classes involved a discussion of the theory of knowledge. The idea is that our minds are so easily tricked that we can be deceived into believing anything, and so several philosophers have tried to establish a framework upon which true knowledge can be framed. The classic skeptic insists that no framework can be formed and so it is impossible to state that there is any truth. Of course this makes for interesting theory, but what happens in practice is another story for the skeptic. When face to face with a lion intent on eating him the skeptic will leave all discussion aside and seek safety. It is hard to ignore what our eyes tell us. This is why Moses made a point of instructing his people on the worship of the One True God. "God is formless" Moses stated, "So avoid the temptation to let your eyes lead you!"

I read this passage with little concern because I don't worship heavenly bodies or earthly statues, but Moses added a little to his warning
"Lest... you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them". That God led Moses to add the word ''serve" to his warning makes me wonder what I serve. How would I know? It seems that I serve whomever wins out in a conflict. If that were true then I serve God because when I am forced to choose I choose my family first, because they are my God-given responsibility. Well, actually I seem to serve my family because when a conflict arises I choose my family because I imagine at that moment how sad they would be if I chose otherwise. Then my thoughts continue to help me realize that I really tend to serve myself because when I choose my family when a conflict arises it is because of how it makes me feel to make my family happy.

The fact is that while we don't worship idols shaped like people, animals, or heavenly bodies we still often find ourselves serving something other than God. How often do you feel that your meanest master is the clock? It may be a sign that you are "serving the sun" because the movement of the clock is based on the sun. Why do we seem to serve these things instead of God? It is because these things have a form while, as Moses reminds us, God is formless. What is more driving than the ticking of the clock? What is more insistent than the demands of a child? What is more clear motivation than a hungry stomach? All these are more tangible than the formless God, but He is no less real. I am forced to remember that I can be swayed away from God by those that are visible and more urgent. I pray that as I eat, take care of my children, and live within the constraints of my schedule I will remember to do it all to God's glory.

God's Voices

I try to pray with my children every night whether they are awake or asleep (some nights I come home very late), and my prayers usually go something like this "Lord, thank you soooooo much for my sweet (insert name of child) who I love soooo much, and I pray that You would help her to love you and to give her heart to you and follow you every where you want her to go. Help her to know how much you love her and that we love her too, and help her to know your voice and obey you, even in her dreams tonight. In Jesus name amen." Of course it changes based on the events of the day, the plans for tomorrow, and whatever had just been discussed between us. Sometimes we pray for other people and if time is short it may be even shorter than the above.

One night I was praying with one of my youngsters at bedtime and the child asked how to hear God's voice. "Do you hear it with your ears?" Of course the answer is I don't know, but I do know that it will never contradict His Word and so I answered, "That really depends on you and God, sweetie, but I think that if you spend time really studying God's Word you will recognize God's voice when He speaks." "Have you heard God's voice Daddy?" "I think I have." "What did it sound like?" "I don't know, I just knew it was God's voice."

That answer had to satisfy for I had other cheeks to kiss and other hugs to give, but I didn't want to give too specific an answer because God's voice is not always what you expect. To me it has been audible (in my ears only) at rare instances, and other times a still small patient voice in my heart that waited for the very quietest moment of frustrated silence. If I tell my child what to listen for, it is possible that she might miss it when God speaks. This is the most frustrating thing about God to me- He is not a checklist God. If you read through the first few books of the Protestant Old Testament you will find that God has some very specific directions for how to obey Him, but then David, whom God called a man after His own heart, states in his writings that God really wants sacrifices of the heart more than those detailed ones in Leviticus and Numbers. Jesus told the "woman at the well" that God wants worship in "spirit and in truth" which is hard to accomplish with a checklist. Why?

I spent some time in my early twenties working with a homeschool organization which followed some legalistic ideas about honoring God. I was taught that listening to certain types of music, reading certain kinds of material, and talking to certain kinds of people would make me tainted in God's eyes and unacceptable to Him. This group also had a list of standards that worked as a checklist to assure that one would be pleasing God. This list included times to study the Bible, when to fast, how to speak, what facial expressions to maintain, and so on. I felt that as I checked things off this list daily I would be a better Christian.

Then one day I began to memorize Romans 8. The first verse is confounding. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." I know that Jesus found forgiveness for all of our sins on the cross, but that doesn't mean that we are sinless, just not facing full punishment for our sins if we trust in Christ. As one reads through the passage he realizes that the condemnation is probably legal in a sense in that we are not condemned because we are covered by Christ's blood, but it is also practical in that the same law does not apply. Paul wrote in verse that "the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." What is "the law of sin and death" but the law of condemnation and punishment? Sin=condemnation, death=punishment for sin.

As I studied this passage God brought to mind the era of my childhood when I changed from doing the absolute minimum to avoid punishment to doing the most I could to bring pleasure to my father. I see this in my children at times- my son will obey the law of condemnation and punishment when he constantly watches me to see how much he can get away with before he gets in trouble. We find that we watch each other, because I want to stop his misbehavior before it gets out of hand and he is stressed over when I will come to the breaking point. On the other hand I see my son watching sometimes to see if I am delighted in his behavior. This is when he is doing what is right and just wants to give me pleasure in him. As my children are learning, when they establish the pattern of obedience both of us relax and they have more freedom to enjoy life because they aren't worried about getting in trouble. In these times my children have counted certain actions as not even worth considering because they don't please me, even when they wouldn't be punished for them.

This is how I envision the "law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus" mentioned in Romans 8:2. I don't live in the fear that the next thing I do will bring me into God's judgement, but I find myself evaluating things based on how much pleasure it will bring to God. I still make mistakes, but that allows me to come to God in prayer based on Christ's perfect record and not my own. That is why Paul writes later on that instead of always thinking about how my flesh motivates me as a spirit indwelt child of God my mind is focused on the things of the spirit.

In other words, this became practical for me as I stopped worrying about when I would have my next "bad thought" and began to focus on how to find more time to mentally focus on my Lord's Word and work. I ceased being afraid to hear God's voice for fear of hearing condemnation, and began to learn to hear God's voice in all the moments of life. Sometimes I feel like everyone should be able to hear the loud single word reminder, and other times I almost think that I missed what He whispered to my heart to feel Him mouth it again. What does this kind of life look like? Well, it looks like someone who always has something to learn. I may not be condemned, but I still make mistakes. The difference is that I don't worry about the tone of God's voices.