DID GOD REALLY CREATE EVERYTHING? Part Two — Seeing God Through Different Eyes

 

DID GOD REALLY CREATE EVERYTHING?

Part Two — Seeing God Through Different Eyes

By Reverend Michael Cook, D.Div.
Red Bull Illuminati Ministry

If you were to ask one hundred people a simple question—

"Who is God?"

—you would likely receive one hundred different answers.

Some would point toward heaven.

Some would point toward the Bible.

Some would point toward nature.

Some would point inward toward the human heart.

Some would say God is Love.

Others would say God is Justice.

Still others would describe God as the Creator, the Father, the Spirit, the Infinite, the Eternal One, the Source of Life, or simply...

The Great Mystery.

Which answer is correct?

Perhaps they all contain a portion of the truth.

Imagine standing before a magnificent mountain.

One person approaches from the east.

Another from the west.

A third climbs from the south.

A fourth observes it from the north.

Each person describes the mountain differently.

One sees waterfalls.

Another sees forests.

Another sees cliffs.

Another sees snow-covered peaks.

They disagree because they have seen different sides of the same mountain.

Yet none of them has seen the entire mountain.

Perhaps our understanding of God is much the same.

Human beings often mistake their perspective for the whole.

We become attached to our descriptions.

Our traditions.

Our doctrines.

Our symbols.

Our language.

Then we begin believing that everyone else must see exactly what we see.

History reminds us where that path leads.

Arguments.

Division.

Religious conflict.

Pride.

The belief that only one group possesses all truth.

Yet the Infinite cannot be contained inside a single human idea.

The ocean cannot be poured into a cup.

The stars cannot be placed inside a lantern.

Neither can the fullness of God be confined to one definition.

Throughout history, people have spoken about God in different ways because each language reflects a different experience of the Divine.

Some know God as Father.

The image of the Father reminds us of guidance.

Protection.

Wisdom.

Responsibility.

Not merely authority...

But loving care.

Others speak of God as Light.

Light reveals.

Light guides.

Light exposes what was hidden.

Light gives life.

Without light, nothing grows.

Others speak of God as Love.

Perhaps this is one of the deepest images of all.

Love creates.

Love gives.

Love heals.

Love forgives.

Love unites.

If God is Love, then everything truly good flows from that source.

Still others speak of God as Spirit.

Spirit cannot be grasped with the hands.

Yet it can be experienced.

Just as we cannot see the wind itself...

Yet we witness its movement among the trees.

So too many people experience the presence of God through peace...

Conscience...

Beauty...

Truth...

Compassion...

Or quiet moments of deep reflection.

Then there are those who speak of God as the All in All.

This ancient expression points toward something beyond every image.

It suggests that nothing exists outside the sustaining presence of the Divine.

That every atom...

Every galaxy...

Every living creature...

Every moment...

Exists because existence itself is continually upheld by the One who is beyond all limitation.

Whether one agrees with this understanding or not, it invites us to think beyond the image of God as merely another being among many.

Instead, it asks us to consider God as the ground of all being itself.

As the Infinite Reality from which all finite existence depends.

This does not remove mystery.

It deepens it.

Many disagreements arise because people confuse the symbol with the reality.

Words are symbols.

Images are symbols.

Even our most beautiful descriptions are only fingers pointing toward the moon.

Wisdom comes when we stop worshiping the finger...

...and begin looking toward what it is pointing to.

One of the greatest dangers in spiritual life is believing that because we know the correct words...

We therefore possess complete understanding.

Knowledge is valuable.

Humility is indispensable.

The wisest teachers throughout history never stopped learning.

They understood that every genuine discovery revealed an even greater mystery waiting beyond it.

Perhaps that is why children often ask the deepest questions.

They have not yet convinced themselves that they already know everything.

There is a beautiful innocence in honest curiosity.

Perhaps God delights more in sincere seekers than in people who believe their journey has already ended.

For if God is truly Infinite...

Then our understanding of God will continue expanding forever.

Every act of compassion reveals another aspect of the Divine.

Every act of forgiveness teaches us something new.

Every moment of wisdom widens our vision.

Every experience of love enlarges our understanding.

The journey never truly ends.

Perhaps eternity itself is an endless discovery of the beauty, goodness, wisdom, and love that have always existed within the Infinite.

This is why we should approach one another with humility.

The person sitting beside you may understand something about God that you have not yet discovered.

The stranger from another culture may carry a piece of wisdom that completes part of your own understanding.

The child may ask a question that opens a door no scholar has considered.

Truth is not threatened by honest seeking.

Truth welcomes it.

So before we ask,

"Did God create everything?"

Perhaps we should continue asking,

"Who is the God we believe created everything?"

Because until we understand the One we are speaking about...

We may spend our lives debating answers to questions we have not yet fully understood.

In our next chapter, we will explore another profound mystery:

Can the Infinite truly be divided into finite understanding, or is every division created only within the human mind?

Until then...

Seek wisdom.

Practice humility.

Love generously.

And never stop asking sincere questions.

For every honest question is another step toward greater understanding.

Peace, Light, and Understanding to All.

— Reverend Michael Cook, D.Div.
Red Bull Illuminati Ministry