Who Is God?
Lent is a good time to get back to basics, to the essentials. (Actually, anytime is a good time for that.) So, I’m sharing some words on the very basics of faith, starting with what comes first: God. This explanation is something that I said (in shorter form) to my nephews when they were very young. It is meant for a child – but, it is also good for me to read once in a while, when I need to be reminded that I am little. And, I have to say, writing a book for the first time is certainly a humbling process! I am being made aware, very acutely, of my limitations, of just how little I am in this great big world… but, also, how great God is….
Here are some simple things that you (and I) can know about God:
God is your Creator. God created everything. When there was nothing, before anything ever existed, God existed, because God is eternal. Eternal means having no beginning and no end. God just always is.
God is Spirit. Spirit is invisible. So, we cannot see God with our eyes. But, we can see what God does.
Think about the wind. Can you see the wind with your eyes? No, you cannot. But, you know that the wind exists. How do you know? Because you can see what the wind does. You can see the leaves on the trees moving together, or even the trees themselves bending and swaying, and then you know that the wind is blowing.
You cannot see God with your eyes, but you can see what God does. God created everything. So, when you see the trees and the birds, the grass and the bugs, when you see the sun, the moon and the stars, when you see people and creatures of every kind, you know that God is.
You may wonder, “Where is God?”
God is everywhere! God is infinite. That’s another way of saying that God doesn’t have a beginning or an end. There is no place where God is not. Sometimes, though, we forget this. If we care only about ourselves and no one else, then it’s like we are turning away from God. But, we can’t really turn away, because God is everywhere. We can only pretend that He doesn’t exist or try to ignore Him – but, to do this is to live a lie. God is the truth.
You may ask, “Why should I care about God?”
Because God cares about you! You exist because of God. The whole universe exists because of God. Without God, there is nothing – so, there is no you. God chose to create you because God loves you. God loves you more than you can ever imagine! The more that you love God, the happier you will be.
© 2018 Christina Chase
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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Christina Chase View All
Although crippled by disease, I'm fully alive in love. I write about the terrible beauty and sacred wonder of life, while living with physical disability and severe dependency. A revert to the Catholic faith through atheism, I'm not afraid to ask life's big questions. I explore what it means to be fully human through my weekly blog and have written a book: It's Good to Be Here, published by Sophia Institute Press.
Christina Chase 
“Will God keep caring about me even if I don’t care about Him?”
That’s a question that haunts me. Not just for myself (I don’t often feel or show that I care, though I want to), but especially for my granddaughter, who says she doesn’t believe in God,
I hope that question did not come up in your conversations with your nephews. But if it did, I hope I know the answer.
(Hi Christina! Little Albert here)
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Hello, little Albert! 🙂
Is this the granddaughter of whom you’ve written before?… Gracie?
You are right in that your question did not come up with my nephews, as they were too young to analyze and overanalyze things. And, yes, you do know the answer to the question raised: “God will keep caring about you even if you don’t care about Him.” God loves you, because that’s what God does – because that’s who God is. And God loves you eternally, because God is eternal love. Not many meaty proofs there, but this is our Christian faith. And when we think about God becoming one of us and dying for love of us – dying even for those who turned their backs on his agony on the cross while raffling for his clothing… we see that there is no limit to God’s merciful love.
I’m sure you have read conversion stories, where even the worst sinners have become great Saints. Be not afraid! There was a period in my life when I, too, did not believe in the existence of God. But, I know now that God was even then calling me and speaking to me, though I did not recognize the voice (the thoughts, the awe, the wonder, the joy) as Him.
Putting your granddaughter in my prayers,
Pax Christi
Tina (that’s what I was called when I was a little girl!)
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Thank you, Tina! I have moments of discouragement, so it helps to hear to hear inspiring voices like yours (yours too, Mary). Church voices are elevating, but predictably so–requiring more effort to really attend; personal stories, like conversations, are engaging. Your writings, and Mary’s, make any day seem like a Sunday afternoon, the words and chants from the morning lingereing while being complemented and enriched.
Yes, I was referring to dear Gracie, 19, embarking on a college program. I don’t think the word God is heard on many campuses. I pray that she will someday “recognize the voice (the thoughts, the awe, the wonder, the joy) as Him”
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Great post, Christina! Speaking from the child’s voice is often the best way to connect with God. He is, after all, our Abba, and we can know him better at this level than through all the theology in the world.
(Note to Al: haven’t you been reading my blog?! My last post, “God as Creator”, touches on your question. We cannot stop God from loving us. Do we imagine that we are so powerful that, through our actions or inactions, we can change the very nature of God? The Good Shepherd is, at this moment, out looking for your granddaughter – who seems to have wandered from His flock. He won’t stop looking for her – ever.)
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Thank you for reflecting with me, Mary! I really like and wholeheartedly agree with what you said about speaking from a child’s voice, that we connect with God and understand best at this level. He is our Father, after all! (More such posts coming in the next two weeks.)
I don’t know if Albert read your latest article – but, I just did! Some wonderfully beautiful thoughts about the unique sacredness of every human being, with God’s name written indelibly within us. I am recommending it here to my readers! Further commenting over there, as well.
Blessings and peace to you,
Pax Christi
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Hi Mary! A faithful reader here. Often a re-reader. Sometimes mum, however, until I’m not.
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I was just kidding you, Al. You are indeed a faithful reader. You read so much because you want God – and He knows that, even when you struggle.
Christina, thanks for your comments, here and at my blog. I think we have the same Holy Spirit guiding our writing. What joy we have in sharing what He tells us! (BTW, How’s that book coming?)
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Thanks for asking about the book, Mary! I did have a bit of a book crisis last week… Heavy sigh…After a conversation with a friend, however, I got a new insight and am now re-organizing, adding to, and revising the first draft. Sheesh. Writing a book is hard (she said with mock surprise, as if she didn’t know that writing a book is extremely difficult.) Sadly, I’m not going to be able to keep the second part of my self-imposed deadline (putting the manuscript into the hands of an editor by my birthday) but, I do hope to put it into the hands of some beta readers by then – and off to the editor by Mother’s Day, Memorial Day at the absolute latest!
So, please do keep sending me all of those lovely dragonflies, centipedes, and moths – bug, bug, bug 🙂
Pax Christi
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