Designed to Communicate
We communicate because God communicates. There is no other way to have a relationship and God is intent on having a relationship with humankind. It is her design.
The ability to communicate—thought, reasoning, symbols and language both spoken and written differentiate humans from other creatures on the planet. Anthropologists agree this idea is the most compelling evolutionary reason humans stride ahead of other species, albeit sometimes too quickly for our own good.
God’s communications have many channels. The most common in Judaic and Christian tradition is through God’s word: the Bible; it is a compendium of stories collected over many centuries that tells us of God’s nature. God often speaks through others and not just through those who share our faith. Love speaks many languages and the many voices of God speak of love through art, culture, music, dance, literature, science, technology, the natural world and many more facets of life. She will even communicate in our dreams or produce visions in our minds. And in the Christian world the most personable and intimate way God communicates is through a man who knows well the human condition and God, and his name is Jesus. There are many designs to God’s communication strategies.
The Language of Spirit
And God likes to talk even though we may find it difficult to understand what is said, but with more time spent listening we become attenuated to the language of spirit.
Listen to the story about the woman and her dog:
One day a woman sips coffee and reads the newspaper aloud. Her dog sits at her feet on the kitchen floor and is alert as if listening to every word “… and the food bank is short of its goal of 10,000 pounds of food. The impact is being felt by local families and their children.”
At these last words the dog raises his head.
“What is it?” she says expecting the dog heard something outside the house that caught his attention. “Have the children next door come out to play? Is that what you hear?”
The dog looks with baleful eyes at his master and lays his head back down on his paws; he closes his eyes as if against a lingering headache.
The woman reaches for a notepad and pen. She adds to her grocery list a half-dozen items.
“I’ll drop these off at the food bank on my way home from the market.” She muses as she completes the list.
The woman picks up the paper again and continues reading the next dis-heartening news story. “So much anger in the world,” she sighs after finishing the article on a recent terrorist attack in Paris.
The dog opens one eye and lets out a low, heartfelt whine as if agreeing with her statement.
“Dear Lord,” she prays under her breath, “please comfort the family of the police officer that was killed.”
The woman turns to the next page and after a while one of many tears pouring down her face lands on the dog’s nose and stirs him from his rest.
“So much sadness,” she utters through her tears. “Why does a little child get cancer?”
The dog sits up and lays his head in her lap.
The woman reaches for her purse and digs around drawing out her cheque book. She prepares a donation to the Cancer Research Society.
After completing the cheque and placing it in an envelope she drinks the last of her coffee and sets aside the newspaper.Today’s news has been more than enough.
The woman lingers for a while, strokes her dog whose head has not moved from her lap. Then breaking her reverie she leans down and whispers in his ear, “You are the Master, aren’t you?”
The dog turns his head and licks her hand.
To be continued (refer next post).
How does God communicate with you and you with God?
In the above “The Language of Spirit” story can you identify the spiritual buckets discussed in the May 21 post “We Are Spiritual by God’s Design”? Refer: http://wp.me/p89n5f-7t