December 6, 2020: Not So Far From God –Amanda Lum

There is a popular phrase within many Christian circles when describing one who no longer identifies as Christian. The phrase? “Far from God …” We talk about someone who no longer goes to church, “Yeah, I haven’t seen Wendy in quite a while on Sundays, she’s far from God.” Or we tell others our story saying things like, “For a time I was doing my own thing and didn’t care about the Christian faith, I was far from God.” Here’s the thing: It’s impossible to be far from God.

 

We learn this from the *mythic story of the first man and the first woman in the garden. They eat of the fruit God commanded them not to eat from. And what does God do? God goes to them, seeks them out and invites them into conversation. It’s clear in the story, the humans are the ones who run and hide; God calls them out of hiding. As one walks through the biblical narrative what we witness again and again is a God who is near to us … near as our next breath, because God is our very breath. This is the God who is right here, right now.