Reflections by Annette Roux, Retired Pastoral Associate
"A stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground – then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground." - Genesis 2:6-7
Let's remember that all of us are made by God's hands. Not just Adam, everyone. Imagine a lump of clay. God picks up it, envisions something wonderful and gets to work. He pulls arms and legs out from the middle and uses his little finger to form eye sockets. He gets lost in the project. And when what-will-be-you is almost done he holds it in his hands, admiring his artistry. The clay is drying. There's not much time. God's hold becomes an embrace. His thumb presses against your chest, marking you with the imprint of your maker, even as you're left with an absence at your center. Not a presence, not an inner light, but a concave indent. God pulls his hand away. God lets us be, because he loves us. If God stayed as close as he was in the act of creation, we'd have no independent existence. And you can't have a relationship without differentiation. God had to leave us, so that his love for us could breathe. So we feel God's love. And we ache for his presence. We long for God. Everybody does. Some of us anesthetize the ache. Others deny it exists. Many people try to satisfy it by placing their faith in something tangible. What does it mean to be a Christian in 2017? All we know is that to be a Christian we have to admit this: the ache for God is real. It hurts. And we cannot satisfy it on my own.
Prayer: Let my longing become prayer, dear Lord. Answer it! Don't leave me alone. Amen.
