Behind the Scenes

Summary

A while back I was listening to a man vent his frustrations about God. “I get so frustrated trying to relate to God!” this man exclaimed. “God is much harder to communicate with than anyone else I know. When I want to communicate with people, I go and visit them, phone them, email them, or Skype them. We can talk and listen to each other face-to-face. Over the phone, we can hear each other’s voices and have a back-and-forth conversation. We can get in touch by email or instant messaging. I get immediate, sensory feedback in all these relationships. Trying to communicate with God isn’t like that at all. I can talk all day at God, but I never hear anything back from God, at least not audibly. I can’t see God. I can’t touch God. I can’t smell God or taste God. Why does it have to be this way? I want more feedback! Why does God make it so hard to be in relationship?”

My friend has a point. Being in a relationship with God is not like being in a relationship with human beings. God can look into our eyes, but we can’t look back into God’s eyes. God hears every word we say, but we might live our whole lives without ever hearing God speak audibly into our ears. I, for example, have never seen the face of God, nor have I ever heard God speak aloud into my ears. As a consequence, many people feel that God is hard to have a relationship with. Many people feel that God is distant and mysterious.