A Connection with the Divine

People desire a connection with a divine.

The problem is that man's mind is limited. People reaching up toward the divine will not connect with the divine.

A person would have to become a god to connect with God.

The only way for people to connect with the divine is for the divine to reach down toward the people.

Enter Jesus

The Bible presents that possibility that The Creator of the Universe took on human form as Jesus.

By becoming man, God created a link between man and the divine.

Jesus wandered the world and experienced the world as a man.

Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to confront people who used the name of God to establish their authority.

The authorities saw Jesus as a threat to their authority and condemned Jesus to death.

There is truth in observation that the people who use Name of God to gain power would balk at the presence of God.

Having seen the world through human eyes, Jesus realized that the people who condemned him did not know what they were doing and forgave them. Forgiveness established a state of grace.

Three days after the crucifixion, Jesus revealed to his disciples that he had risen from the dead. This shows a path to salvation.

Jesus traveled the world for 40 days after the crucifixion as a resurrected man.

A resurrected man is still limited by physics. He only met a few people.

Jesus ascended to heaven forty days after the crucifixion. Then fifty days after the crucifixion the Holy Spirit ascended on the disciples.

The Holy Spirit provides the connection with God that people desire.

My Thoughts

People of the ancient world had intense disputations about the nature of man and the relation of man and the divine.

The ancients also had a tendency to present their ideas as myth.

I really don't have a problem with people being people.

The story of Jesus holds some beautiful insights.

The first insight that any connection we have the divine would come from the divine. Sadly, we live in a world filled with charismatic leaders who use the Word of God for their own personal power.

I personally think that, while people cannot see the world through God's eyes, God has the ability to see the world through human eyes.

Rejection of Christ

Understandably many people reject the story of Christ. Notably it appears that there were many Jewish theologians in the Syriac and Aramaic world who rejected the idea that God took on human form as it violated their notion of the oneness of God.

A popular form of the rejection of Jesus is the saying: "There is One God. Mashiach was a prophet."

Religious Violence

Sadly, some people really hate the story of Christ.

Religious hatreds are so deep that it leads to violence.

Many nations are bracing for extremist reactions against the holidays.

Nigeria and Sudan have been centers of this violence. Relief organizations report that over 4,000 Christians are killed for their beliefs each year.

Sudan has seen outright genocide for decades.

Conclusion and the Picture

I asked Night Cafe to generate an abstract image of a star over of manger as I pondered the question: Is it possible for the creator of the universe to take on human form?

How would people react to God in human form.

The idea that God took on human form and that God infused the earth with the Holy Spirit after the death of god's human form does not challenge the oneness of God as Jesus and the Holy Spirit are aspects of God.

I wish the world a Merry Christmas as this is a time to contemplate the nature of God. I wish you are peace and freedom from religious violence.