What are we really looking for when we seek God?  Do we really wish to discern the nature of the divine, or just looking for answers to “me”?  I think we look for a god who looks just like us.  Think about all the pictures of Jesus that adorn our homes.  He is an effeminate looking white man.  The “real” Jesus would be a swarthy complexioned, dark eyed, dark haired working  stiff.  He would have rough hands and a sun-burned skin and looked like someone you would see at the local pub.  But, we want Jesus to look “spiritual”, not “normal”.

Angels are another pet peeve of mine.  The paintings all look the same:  long blonde hair, hand raised in the familiar three finger salute and a golden halo floating over their heads.  I’m sorry, but if an angel comes to my aid, I want Rambo, not Nicole Kidman.  Angels are depicted as a being of which we are afraid, not our second grade lunch lady.

We try to imagine the spiritual in a manner that we can understand.  Thus we see God as “Father”, the angels as “us” after we get to Heaven, the “devil” as some ugly old monster with a pitchfork.  Actually, it is the angels who will have pitchforks, winnowing the wheat from the chaff.  It is no wonder we are so all over the place when trying to think about the spirit realm.  We have no point of reference other than what we can see.

What we want to see when we look for God is someone who is there at our beck and call.  We want someone to fulfill our wishes.  We want someone who will understand our weakness and tell us it will be okay.  We want a gentle judge who will tell us it is all a part of a greater plan and we are not to blame.  But, we are to blame.  All of our wrong choices and bad decisions and questionable ethics are to blame.  Not all of our “afflictions” are caused by the devil.  Not all of our heartaches are the result of some grand scheme by Hell to ruin our lives and torment us.  Some things that happen are random.  Bad things DO happen to good people.  Good people make bad choices.  Bad people make bad decisions that impact good people’s lives.  The world isn’t always very nice and life is never fair.

Providence forgives our sins.  The spiritual powers do not give us strength to combat evil, we give us strength to combat the evil in our lives.  I have to decide to act in a manner that betters the lives of the people I profess to love and those who are impacted by me.  You are going to find the god you look for, just don’t be surprised if the face in the picture of God is your own.