Who is God?

"My mind tells me I will never understand God...[my heart] tells me I wasn't meant to. Faith is a gift I have not yet received." — Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), "Angels & Demons"

That is one of my favorite quotes from recent film because it is a great example of a seeker. Dan Brown's books, and the film's based upon them, are by no means Christian works. But the openness to faith displayed at times in "Angels & Demons" was fascinating. When I first saw the scene where the quote above was given I was moved.

Langdon is not a believer, but he seems to understand what it means to have faith. As it says in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Langdon refers to faith as a gift, one which he has not yet received. I might put it that it's a gift he's not yet ready to receive the gift of faith.

I couldn't help but think of that quote Wednesday night as the Click group talked about who God is. One of the questions asked of all the students and leaders was whether we can really know God and, if so, to what extent. My response was that we can know God, but we can't ever fully understand him in this life.

That is what the quote above is driving at. Intellectually, we will never fully be able to understand God. That's why faith requires a leap, or a surrender of sorts, to God's will for our lives. I also think part of being a Christian is a continual evolvement of how we see and know God as we grow in our faith. And it's a process we won't ever complete in this life.

1 Corinthians 13:12 says, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." The verse speaks to our understanding of God and his will in our lives.

As the students were sharing their thoughts Wednesday night I thought about where I was when I was their age and where I am now. It's hard for me to believe sometimes how much I've grown and matured in my faith in that time. It's exciting to see those students and to think about the faith journey they will undertake as well.

The other thought that occurred to me was how God appears to others. For a lot of Robert Langdon's out in the world the only perception they have of God is what they see in his representatives on Earth; in other words Christians. All of us who live by faith have a tremendous responsibility to honor God in our words and actions, because you never know who is watching and what effect you can have on those who are seeking.

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