Friends, the below is a simulated Q&A, questions and answers, for someone who is wondering and thinking deeper about God.
I’m an adult – God has never really been a big part of my life and I haven’t really been very interested so far. Can He really offer me anything?
In my time of trying more and more to follow God, Jesus Christ, in a deep way, I’ve realized how much He truly loves us, with how much compassion He treats us. It’s only with time that I’ve realized that He is like this with us because He knows our world is a broken place, full of broken people, us included. And unfortunately because the world is broken, and we are broken, we break each other more. But this wasn’t His plan when He created us. Something went wrong, and now He wants to help us pick up the pieces in a way that only He can. So that’s what He offers us…among many things, hope, that the future can be better than our present.
Does God actually love me?
Absolutely! Again, it’s only with time that I’ve realized how God views us, of course, much better than we view ourselves and definitely much better than how others view us. Imagine having amazing parents – loving, caring, gentle, wise. These are humans. Now imagine the one who created them, who designed them and all of us. That’s a very perfect and powerful love.
Something else that’s important to think about God is that He is very powerful, but I don’t mention this to intimidate…but when He creates our souls, he does so powerfully, and this soul is immortal, it will live forever. And yes, unfortunately, I do have to mention heaven and hell, but God does everything in His power to make sure that our souls go to heaven, and He weeps and gets deathly sad when any of us
condemn ourselves to hell. Just like a good parent, He can’t be happy when we are suffering, and especially when we suffer in significant ways.
Thanks for this. Now, what can I do to get closer to Him?
Probably the first thing is to “pray” regularly – talk to Him like you would a friend, maybe for a few minutes when you start or end your day. Maybe you can also buy yourself an image of Him like popular images of the Divine Mercy (or unframed) or Sacred Heart (or unframed)? And then for at least a minute or two, be sure to tell Him, “I am here, and I am listening, please speak if you would like to.” He may surprise you and bring certain images, memories, or people, to mind, or certain feelings up. If it’s not clear, don’t worry; I am sure with time it will make sense. Definitely we don’t to lose our peace!
Something else that’s important is to read the bible a bit, but it’s a little complex on how to do so. The best thing is to read the “gospels” or the books that Jesus is in, in order to get to know Him better. These are usually around the middle of the Bible, the books of Matthew, Mark, and others. I would start with Mark because it’s a very straightforward read. If you need a bible, this is a good one.
Once you finish Mark, read Matthew, then Luke, then John, then Acts. Half a page or so each time you read it is good!
Another question: I am not a big fan of organized religion, any thoughts/ideas?
Can completely understand this, because the brokenness in the world and in people that I mentioned earlier is also a part of churches, which are also part of the world, and this includes my church, the Catholic Church. What I’d say is, give it another shot – at least in the time that I’ve gotten deeper into my church, probably the last 5 years or so, I notice that a lot of us are trying a lot harder to be nicer. We still aren’t perfect, but sometimes we are able to learn from others and their experience.
You seem nice, thank you. Is there anything I can do for you?
When you pray to God, please be sure to pray for me and others who try to spread His word; this is called “intercession” type of prayers, prayers on behalf of other people. Please pray to Him that He always give us what we need for our lives and to do our work. May God bless us!
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By Juan B
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