What Is God?

As the year winds down, I like to post subjects that are more thought-provoking and perhaps a bit more edgy. I begin this week with a rumination on a question my Granddaughter asked recently. Next week, I’ll tackle what I believe is the fundamental force of the Universe and how it impacts our lives. Finally, for the last Sunday of December, I will address what I feel is the ultimate personal question: How should I live this life?

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What Is God?

That’s the question my five-year-old granddaughter asked recently. I didn’t know the answer. But I told her it was an excellent question and that I would think about it.  

This post follows those thoughts.

As background,  I was raised in a devout Christian family; Presbyterian to be exact. I don’t think we missed Sunday church services a dozen times before I left home. I attended Sunday school through confirmation, which is to say, I have a reasonably good understanding of the Christian response to my granddaughter’s question.

But it’s more complicated than that.

The answers I got in confirmation class felt incomplete. I was fascinated by the Holy Spirit and wondered how it could exist within us and beyond us simultaneously.  I sought out our minister for clarification. His attempt to shed additional light on the subject was unsuccessful. He told me that theologians have wrestled with such questions for centuries and that, in the end, I must rely on faith. 

For me, faith sidestepped the essence of Spirit. I was searching for something more tangible, something akin to love. One doesn’t need to have faith in love to be in love. 

Human nature craves answers.  Scientists pursue them through experiments, artists through creative expression, philosophers through ideas, and the pious through God. I succumbed to this need and began searching for Spiritual answers on my own. 

This journey lasted many years before finally ending up where it began. I didn’t find definitive answers, and ultimately concluded that relationship, or perhaps a better word, intimacy, is the essence of Spirituality. 

Tara Isabella Burton’s reflection on the poems of T.S. Eliot expresses my point:

“As human beings, we are always trying to explain things. But that’s the problem. Theories require words, and words require thoughts, and as soon as you start thinking, Eliot suggests, you go down the wrong path.” 

I provide this background because I find it futile to define God. God means different things depending on one’s beliefs. In the absence of specific beliefs, I don’t have a definitive definition for God. I prefer not to conflate a mystery beyond my knowing with names and ideology.

But that, of course, doesn’t address my granddaughter’s question.

I brought up the question with my brother, Paul, who has served as a Christian minister for 40 years.  “Is your intention to lead her, guide her, or walk with her?” He asked.

I love good questions, and that was an excellent one!

My parents tried to steer me toward their answer, but their dogmatic approach ultimately drove me away. I don’t want to make the same mistake with my granddaughter. 

Guidance is more difficult. I believe that Spirituality is a critical element of one’s life. But I don’t have a specific catechism to offer.  My Spiritual practices don’t translate to a five-year-old (something I no doubt need to work on).  Hence, I’m not well-equipped to provide guidance.

I do, however, resonate with the idea of walking with my Granddaughter in her journey.  I’m preparing for that now as I consider how my journey might relate to hers. 

As you can see, my answer will take time to evolve. At the center of that journey is union, our deepest experience of which is love. Love is universal. Love exists beyond specific doctrines or beliefs; why not approach the unexplainable mysteries of life with my Granddaughter through love?

The next time she asks about God, I think that I will explain to her that God is love. 

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Former blog posts can be found here by subject category and here chronologically. 

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My first book, Towards A Life Well-Lived, can be purchased by clicking this link. Proceeds from sales are donated to Peace In Schools, a Portland, Oregon-based organization that supports mindfulness training in high schools. 

Stay tuned for my new book, The Secret Within, which I now expect to be available early in the new year.