KristyWes

Bigger Than This

Last night I left work with a co-worker and we started walking south. We walked from 52nd street down to 9th street. In those 2 miles we discussed Jesus, divinity, discipleship, etc. My co-worker observes different religious practices than I do, yet there is a lot of common ground in our experiences with God.

Though there are many areas where I cannot agree with him, we seemed to be on the same page in emphasizing that what matters most is your relationship and interaction with God - the symbols, the rules, the "doctrine" should all be secondary to your personal relationship to the Divine. It's so good to be reminded of this, as I know how prone to legalism I can be. (I often fall into legalism even on this matter of relationship - "It's not a religion, it's a relationship" becomes a trite doctrine, its truth not always manifested in my daily life.)

In our conversation, I got the sense that my co-worker felt my view of the Divine was somehow limited, "trapped" as it were in the constructs of Christian thought. He offered up the view that Christianity, Buddhism, [Insert_name_of_World_Religion_here] are all equally valid - just frames of reference to allow different types of people to all experience the Divine in a way best suited to them. He urged me to consider how big God is, how little we know of God right now - we are only scratching the surface of His vastness.

He is right about that. How little I know of God - how little I know *Him*! How often do I imagine Him in my limited view, rather than considering He is more marvelous than I could ever imagine?

I hope this thought stays with me - that I am constantly reminded that God is bigger than I know. I don't want to be content to stand still with what I know of God - I want to search Him out all the days of my life, to keeping scratching the surface, to let Him expand my view of Him.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9)

May my thoughts always be on Jesus; may I stop trying to drag Him down to my level, but rather allow Him to pull me up to glimpse His vast, vast glory and love.