Indiana Jones

It’s quite ironic that “god” is such a common word yet God is equally unknown to many. And when I talk about knowing him I mean being acquinated with his Way, mind and Spirit in real time.

I’m not talking about doing churchy things i.e praying, fellowship, bible study and all. It’s possible to have all that and still not know him – Passover.

This thought has been on my mind for a while; the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Here’s a woman on her 5th (and counting) ‘husband’ coming to the well at the wrong time of the day. Or maybe it was the right time because there was no one to judge her. And on this one day, she finds this rather strange dude. I’m guessing from the demeanour and accent she could deduce that he was Jewish. However within a few minutes, she was shocked on realising that this Jewish dude seemingly had no idea about the Jewish-Samaritan relations. A dialogue ensued that spun from talking about water to mountains and finally about husbands though I really doubt it was about husbands.

All the points our dear lady made in her defence were more than valid. She had a good understanding of that history. And this is remarkable considering that at that time, religious studies were offered exclusively to the male gender.

In that long dialogue, there’s a statement that Jesus made that still shakes me You worship what you do not know;…

Jump to Apostle Paul. He’s arrived at Athens ahead of Silas and Timothy. Athens was the cream of knowledge, intellect, thought, idea and innovation- perhaps the Silicon valley of sorts. If anything was to be fully studied, known, understood and improved, Athens was the place. So while awaiting the arrival of his compatriots, he strolled down the streets and was greeted with an immense number of houses of worship; temples, churches, cathedrals all devoted to different beliefs and gods. So diverse and inclusive was the culture that they even had a church dedicated to “The Unknown god”. In a place where any thing that could be known was known, there was, present, a God unknown. I’m just curious how services were conducted here but I digress.

So Jacob dug a well to feed his family. Generations later, the well is considered an added advantage in the race to knowing God-selah! On the other hand, one man receives something as a revelation. He teaches it to his offspring as a practice. But as it passes down thru generations, more and more of the why is lost while the what is continuously encased in gold and the finest of rubies. To the extent that sometimes God feels like a relic, admired and valued for what he once was and did for the guys in the Bible stories. But today, like that well, most people are both ok talking about this God who ‘did’ and like that woman, can vehemently defend a well that cannot quench the thirst that’s gotten them five ‘husbands’ thus far.

The Jew is convinced in his way and god, and so is the Sikh, Moslem, naturalist, Buddhist, evangelical, Catholic etc. The well still provides water, and that’s enough to keep us alive. And should the well fail then we have our mountain, our holy pilgrimage, our sacred caves and incense etc. And they all (seem to) work, for all of them.

Our forefathers worshiped on this mountain, but you [Jews] say that Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary and proper to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither [merely] in this mountain nor [merely] in Jerusalem. You [Samaritans] do not know what you are worshiping [you worship what you do not comprehend]. We do know what we are worshiping [we worship what we have knowledge of and understand], for [after all] salvation comes from [among] the Jews. A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers. God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality). Jn 4:20-24 AMPC

Our fathers had experiences. Their experiences birthed practices and these were passed on. Along the way, our God(s) died and what we were left with became tradition, acts devoid of power or revelation. Yet we find Peter writing to the scattered churches and urging them to continue and be established in the present truth, insinuating a God alive and consistently moving and revealing more and more.

So I sit here and ponder, do we really know the God we worship?

Daniel told us that in the last days knowledge would increase. As was the case in Athens, I’m alive at a time where any thing that can be known can be known. Information has never been so liberal. Religious books (and the associated apps) have never been so easy to find. On any given day, there’s countless places of worship open. We have multiple calendars and even more sacred days, objects and practices. Even those who don’t believe in the idea of a god have their place of worship. Deity, as it were, has become common knowledge. But yet in all this I sit here and wonder, do we really know what we worship?

And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent. Jn 17:3 AMPC