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.

How Do You Know?

A few weeks ago, a group of good friends gathered to celebrate an anniversary. While enjoying a great dinner and excellent company, our conversation turned to topical events. When the subject of Charlie Sheen came up, I expressed two opinions - 1) that I was able to relate to nearly every attitude he had been quoted on regarding whether or not he was ashamed of his partying (he's not, I'm not - it happened) and 2) that his choices of how he was leading his life really had no impact on whether his life was of merit or not; that is to say that because he was focused on his own happiness and buzz was no different than the civic leader who performed innumerable acts of charity solely for the social status it brought them.
Opinion #1 came from hearing so many people speak about how miserable and sad Charlie Sheen must be. Their thoughts were those of someone who has not experienced "life on the bus," has not been driven to get higher than logic says is possible and who thinks that anyone who delves into such a world must do so out of desperation and misery. I'm here to tell you that you are missing the point entirely. I told them and I tell you that I think Charlie is having a HELL of a good time and that life is probably really good from his point of view right about now. For a person that enjoys being effed up, the combination of unlimited funds, friends to party with and a fairly good quality supply of dope, life doesn't get much better.
To start with, it isn't tomorrow that holds any allure for those of us that have lived (or are living) in this world. What is so great about tomorrow if today is going to suck? And today DOES suck if I have a chance to get totally wasted/high, be in a world no one else can describe or share fully but others on the same ride can 100% relate to and have all my worldly needs taken care of.
Which is to say, I have a place to hang, my belly isn't hurting from hunger and I AM EFFED UP.
The fact that the high is artificial and derives its power from power I (the user) cede to it matters not. It is really, really, really fun for those of us who want to ride the tiger. The ONLY reason I am still not riding that bus, tiger or train is because I found something I value more. I still don't give a flying f**k about your values.
Opinion #2 is tied to #1 in that YOUR values about what makes a life worthwhile is something that worries me not in the least. I have come to understand that my life and its value is not anything that a human being can place value on. Our purpose doesn't come from this life, its origin is beyond our control, our (natural) time here isn't our determination and how others regard us immaterial. For me, Life is about being in relationship with God, celebrating the blessings surrounding me (including Life and Awareness of His presence with me) and partaking in the intoxication which comes from this realization.
Any life lived apart from relationship with God is the same and of equal worth (or lack thereof), I expressed. It is only when one is in relationship with God that the Meaning of Life becomes apparent and perspective allows one to deal with "trials" accurately, I said.
The question which followed, posed by one of my better friends, has haunted me since that evening. "How do you know?" she asked. "How do you know you are in relationship with God?"
I have searched for the proper answer since she said it.
I'm not sure there is an answer that will satisfy the mind that demands proof on this question. In some ways, asking someone to prove faith is like attempting to push water. Something gets moved, but it doesn't much resemble what it was when the push started.
Instead, let's look at this from a different point of view.
Have you ever had a problem or challenge that the answer to was proving very elusive? You have spent much time contemplating this issue, working it over both in your conscious mind and your subconscious. It has occupied your thoughts for longer than you expected it would. All your training and experience has led you to believe that you ought to know this. You believe you should know it. Yet it isn't there- you don't know the answer. Until.
Maybe it happened while you slept. Or your mind had seemingly led the problem aside for a moment. Until.
Until you knew the answer to the problem - you knew the tactic to take to solve it. Or you finally identified what the root cause was and were able to plan the steps to resolve it. But suddenly, instantly and unquestionably, you knew. Many times we can't explain how we know - we just somehow know.
Consider beauty.
We can define beauty, we can talk about beauty. We can contrast the concept of beauty with ugly. We can give examples of what is considered beautiful, reciting what we have heard from others. But until we experience something beauty, it is only an abstract concept for us. A hollow world without tone or quality; it is something but it is not a part of our world. Yet.
But when we experience beauty (not just observe it), it changes everything about the word for us. Suddenly and eternally, beauty becomes a part of our life. Its absence is noticed, mourned. Its presence celebrated.
So, how do you know something is beautiful or creates beauty? Can you quantify it? Define it using absolutes? Create a definition for it that will allow one with no experience with it to read and then understand beauty?

Some things are simply known, in and of themselves, apart from the rules which seek to govern all the other aspects of our lives. And that is the absolute joy of faith, which can only be a gift.