"You said you wanted to see me". Larry said to Carolyn, who then ushered Larry into the pew near the front of the church.
There weren't that many pews, although the church is a vast, cavernous space. To Larry, it seems very bare after his mother's place of worship; no children's posters or colourful tapestries, just grey stone and a high altar that's almost invisible.
There are some statues around the outside wall, but they are grey too and seem to blend into the stone. It's a cold place, and Larry started to shiver- he was physically cold, but also freezing inside. He and Carolyn kept their coats on,
Thank you for seeing me, Carolyn. Is there something I have said or done that has upset you?
"Yes, there is actually Larry. When we were together the other night, you were telling me how great a Christian you were and how you were always telling people how God always wanted to meet with us in a special place of worship - how warm and friendly the building was, and that was the only place God wanted to me with us.
Well, that put me in my place, didn't it! Here is my church, and there are lots of places where we worship God that aren't anything, like the place where you worship God, and yet what you are saying is that God will only meet with us due to the type of building?"
"Well, yes, I truly believe that", says Larry. "Isn't it God's way that He only wants to meet with us in special places and not just anywhere?"
"Sorry!!!" Said Carolyn, "What did you just say? And what do you truly believe? That God only wants to meet with us in special places and only in 'HOLY' places?
"Well, yes, I truly believe that", says Larry. "Isn't God a holy God, and should we believe that he can't meet with us in any old place, especially in a cold and very old place like this - after all, who would want to come here at all?
I know of a weekend my wife SueAnn and I walk the beaches around where we live. We go so early in the morning, just as the sun is coming up. Seeing God's creation at that time is so beautiful - we can see Him in everything - the waves, the sand, the wind, the total creation is there before us.
We don't really have to go to any special place to meet with God.
God meets us where we are, BUT only if we make the effort to meet Him. Because God is truly LOVE, and that with a capital L. He will not push Himself onto us or coerce us or force us to find Him or even to want Him.
He is always so willing to respond to us when we open the door to our lives and invite Him in, BUT we just need to be willing to open up to Him and invite Him into our lives.
Another thing we should think about is that we can't have God on our own terms - We can't expect God to do what we want when we want it or to meet with us in some sort of special place - God is NOT like that at all. We all have to realise that God knows us all better than any of us knows our own selves.
He created us all so unique - He breathed life into us - and He knows us all inside and out - who we really are, and he knows he has plans for all of us - He actually created us for a purpose
The other thing is that God knows where we will all end up; unfortunately, for so many of us, that place will be none of God's plan - the thing is, He has given us a mind of our own and a will to match. He has designed pretty much a paradise for us, BUT it is really up to us to accept or reject Him.
So many people reject God - you see it on television or at the movies - so many times they use the Lord's name in swearing and hostilities rather than what Jesus actually did on the cross to save all of us - so sad really.
God will not hold us guiltless when we take His name in vain or reject Him entirely.
It's so encouraging when we listen to other people's encounters with God - it just comes bounding out to us that God will meet with us exactly where we are - it certainly doesn't have to be in a cathedral or some church - His great love for us transforms us, and also the lives of whoever responds to Him.
God's amazing love for you can transform you exactly where you are - be it at a beach, in a crowd, at work, or yes! even in a church. We certainly don't need to go anywhere special to 'find' God. He is so willing to find us if we are so willing to find Him.
How are you feeling about God - if you are at all? I know from many years at work that so many people feel God is just some sort of mind spectre who appears in your mind and then disappears. I know for a fact that He is real and his love can transform you if you take the time to acknowledge His very presence and accept Him into your life.
He transformed me, and I know He can transform you - all you need to do is accept Him and ask Him into your life to lead you.
God bless you this week. Take care.
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