The short answer is, ‘I don’t’ know”. The absence of an answer doesn’t keep me from wondering. Pondering the question has been quite pleasurable for me, and wonderfully inspiring for my worship.
Our Bible is my filter for understanding life’s simplicity and complexity. I believe the Bible is what God wants me to know about Him. God is known and unknowable. Apart from what He has revealed, we don’t know anything of Him. Many people are bothered by this truth. We humans have control issues, which, well… control us. What we do not know, we cannot control, and this threatens what control we do have over our personal destiny.
There are three broad ways we deal with this ambiguity.
1. We deny God exists; we are self-determining blips on a cosmic timeline. There was nothing before the universe began. There will be nothing when it finally dissolves.
2. We accept God exists, and our lot in life is determined by our success at pleasing Him.
3. Using His own words, “I am that I am”. He is entirely unknowable, autonomous, and self-existing.
If we could take all that is, the entire universe, put it in a paper bag and fold over the top; God would be able to carry it to his office and not be inconvenienced in any way. Actually, God could have uncountable universes over which he cares, a whole table full of lunch bags.
I do believe we have enough in our own universe, indeed, in our own solar system to understand and appreciate the qualities of our Creator. The dissecting of a grasshopper in high school biology was enough to prove to me we are wonderfully and mysteriously made.
It is an absurd notion, but if we could wipe away all that is created, what would be left? There can be no “thing”. Some “thing” has to exist. Even darkness would be taken away. So again, what is left? For me, “light” is all that is left. And that light is the “light of man”. In Him, there is no darkness at all. That is an astounding thought to meditate upon.
The real question is, “Where did I come from?”. I have a beginning and an end. But God cannot “come”, nor can God be “from”. He IS. And that, my friend, is a forceful call for us to worship our Creator! God has revealed enough truth of His person to continually move us toward reaching our created potential, but we must seek it and choose it.
I understand why my teens ask such a question. As their minds mature, they become conscious that their world is not always concrete. It is also abstract. In our culture, the awakening of the reality of Santa Clause could be a factor in considering if God could be just as factual. We cannot despair in their quest for understanding. We must help them see ever deeper into the Greatest mystery and expedition of all time, knowing God.
Don’t be afraid of their question, for soon, they will be asking, “Is there a God?”. I don’t think they are asking for practical explanations, they are asking where you believe God came from. They want to know how you navigate through life with the idea of the mysteries of God.
Try not to give them the cliché answer, “I know that I know”. Think about your life with God. You cannot provide them with a solution that satisfies all their questions, but you should be able to provide them with a thoughtful response to why you worship and serve your Creator.
Our lives on earth will not be altered much if any, if we could say exactly where God came from. However, our lives are radically changed by our understanding of where we came from, where we are going, and how we are getting there.
Photo – This picture was taken on an evening cruise in Upper Bay looking back toward Battery Park in New York City.
Baldwin Heirlooms 