Christ Our Savior Parish recently issued the following announcement.

I love asking kids what they imagine God to be like. How does He look? How does He sound? What does He say to you? What does Heaven look like? It’s not purely their imagination, of course. How a child, or an adult for that matter, imagines God to be is formed by what we know of Him as we are in relationship with Him and what we learn of Him as we read the Bible. And yet, I feel that sometimes there are things we falsely attribute to God, even though the truth is clear in the Scriptures. One way, I believe, our imagination of God is the opposite of the reality of God is the idea that God is far away. As the Father of all, we imagine that He reigns over all as He sits on his throne in Heaven. It is easy, then, to think of God as far away. Some people imagine God sitting in front of a large chessboard and strategically moving us, His people, around the board. But God is not far away, nor does He treat us arbitrarily as part of some strategy. We are God’s beloved children and, as the psalmist reminds us today, “the Lord is near to all who call upon Him”. 

While God who is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful) and all benevolent (all-loving), He certainly understands the vastness of His creation, the world and His people in it, God cares for us in His nearness to us. He is not far off when we call out to Him, but instead is so intimately near us that He knows what we need even before we ask Him. At times, we may feel that God is slow to act in our lives, but I trust that He acts immediately and works to prepare our hearts and lives to receive what He has given us. It’s hard to believe that we will soon begin to celebrate Advent and prepare in earnest for Christmas. These seasons are such a vibrant reminder of God’s nearness to us. 

In Advent, we will proclaim Emmanuel, God is with us. At Christmas, we will celebrate the Word made flesh who dwells among us. While our imaginations may see God as an old man with a long white beard who reigns over us from afar, may our hearts always confirm for us the nearness of God as He dwells in our midst and provides for our needs. God bless! Fr. Nick

Original source can be found here.