Who do you know?
My prior post addressed the question, "How do you know?"
Its context was framed by my opinion that Life becomes most valuable when one enters into a right relationship with God. Some theologists prefer to say that one grows aware of the existence of such a relationship and responds to the summons God issues. In either case, the response to the Spirit of our Creator is a dividing line between life lived before and life lived after. That is something for another post, I think.
Tonight I am thinking about the question which would follow "How do you know?" To me, the next logical question or extension of the same question is "How do you know who you know?"
In other words, if I have faith in my relationship with God and answer the question of how I know by saying the knowledge is part of my gift and my relationship, one can ask how do I know my relationship is with God and not something else?
The something else could be another force or spirit, my own ego or, as a friend put it, "or perhaps being in relationship with the idea of God."
For me, the test I would lay before one who claims relationship with God (as I do before myself often) is to examine who is glorified by this relationship. If the one claiming such a relationship also claims special status or glory for themselves, then I suspect they are misled. If personal gain or power is derived or sought through the relationship, they are missing the point. If the relationship is due to a worthiness or special action on their part, the spirit of the relationship is lying about its origin. If the author of the relationship demands glory and worship, it is an impostor who has tricked its partner.
If the person claiming such a relationship says they have done nothing special to have been given such a gift, that they have no claim on such a gift or relationship and in fact don't deserve it at all, I think they are on track. If they say that the relationship with God was offered before they understood it, that in entering into such relationship they still remain unworthy (except through being deemed so by God) and that they are most certainly not divine, they are spot on.
If their response to the knowledge of such relationship is one of wonder, amazement and deep gratitude, they probably are heading to the right place.
If one is able to say, "God/Creator has made me for His glory and I hope that my actions reflect (and not earn me) a response to the love given to me," then that person understands our insignificance as well as our true worth.
Then, after all this, I think one can say how they know who they know.
Its context was framed by my opinion that Life becomes most valuable when one enters into a right relationship with God. Some theologists prefer to say that one grows aware of the existence of such a relationship and responds to the summons God issues. In either case, the response to the Spirit of our Creator is a dividing line between life lived before and life lived after. That is something for another post, I think.
Tonight I am thinking about the question which would follow "How do you know?" To me, the next logical question or extension of the same question is "How do you know who you know?"
In other words, if I have faith in my relationship with God and answer the question of how I know by saying the knowledge is part of my gift and my relationship, one can ask how do I know my relationship is with God and not something else?
The something else could be another force or spirit, my own ego or, as a friend put it, "or perhaps being in relationship with the idea of God."
For me, the test I would lay before one who claims relationship with God (as I do before myself often) is to examine who is glorified by this relationship. If the one claiming such a relationship also claims special status or glory for themselves, then I suspect they are misled. If personal gain or power is derived or sought through the relationship, they are missing the point. If the relationship is due to a worthiness or special action on their part, the spirit of the relationship is lying about its origin. If the author of the relationship demands glory and worship, it is an impostor who has tricked its partner.
If the person claiming such a relationship says they have done nothing special to have been given such a gift, that they have no claim on such a gift or relationship and in fact don't deserve it at all, I think they are on track. If they say that the relationship with God was offered before they understood it, that in entering into such relationship they still remain unworthy (except through being deemed so by God) and that they are most certainly not divine, they are spot on.
If their response to the knowledge of such relationship is one of wonder, amazement and deep gratitude, they probably are heading to the right place.
If one is able to say, "God/Creator has made me for His glory and I hope that my actions reflect (and not earn me) a response to the love given to me," then that person understands our insignificance as well as our true worth.
Then, after all this, I think one can say how they know who they know.
posted by Kurt at 10:44 PM
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