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by Marie D. Jones
Paraview Press, 2003
ISBN: 1931044422
Spirituality, 188 pages
Trade paperback, $14.95 |
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Excerpts from Looking For God
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My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad Any Day
It's the old schoolyard battle cry all over again as modern
religions fight for recess ruling rights. Christian leaders argue
with Islamic elders over who has access to the "real" God. Jews and
Muslims blow up opposing forces in suicide bombings in an attempt to
out-Holy each other. Meanwhile, everybody picks on the Wiccans, and
the Buddhist monks must consider taking up Uzis to protect their
monasteries from hostile Westerners anxious to wipe out pacifism.
All this because one group of people is convinced that they and only
they know the right way to God. Just like the next-door neighbor who
insists his weed killer is better than yours, or the parent-to-be at
your birthing class who insists that the Ferber method outweighs the
Sears concept. Or the gas station attendant who swears on his
mother's grave (even though she's still alive) that the only way to
get to the Grand Canyon is to take a right when going left would be
a heck of a lot faster, at least according to the map you purchased
from said attendant.
The problem is, there's more than one way to read a map.
Furthermore, on the road to the Divine, there's more than one map.
Think of what Jesus said about His Father's house having many
mansions within. Even Jesus knew that all routes ended at the same
truck stop. Some of those routes even share the same viewpoints and
rest stops.
Why then do we continue to look for God in all the wrong places, or
insist that we know where God is when in our hearts we don't have a
clue? My guess is that we will really only know when we actually
visit those wrong places. We need to check them out for ourselves to
see what the attraction is. It's like when you were a kid and you
thought the local carnival was to die for, only when you finally
convinced your parents to take you on that warm summer's eve, you
couldn't believe how dirty and grimy the whole place was. The cotton
candy was stale, the rides were all down for repairs, and those
awful, horrible, misshapen freaks gave you nightmares for weeks --
and I'm referring to the other kids and their parents, not the
sideshows! Personally, I found those carnivals really frightening.
By exposing the people, places, and things we mistake for that which
we really seek, we can finally figure out the Mystery of Mysteries.
The key to a successful search is to take our time, have some fun,
and keep our eyes open wide for clues along the way. And there will
be clues. Plenty of them.
Just don't get so caught up in looking for God that you miss finding
God when you finally get to where God is. Remember the Biblical
saying, "Be still and know that I am God." The key phrase is "Be
still." Slow the pace, enjoy the ride. Too much movement often leads
to confusion, exhaustion, and discouragement, unless you're a
ballroom dancer or a one-armed man on the run from the FBI.
It's the process that counts, not the destination -- because in this
case, the process is the destination. This probably sounds confusing
now, but you'll see what I mean as we go along.
We've got a lot to cover, so let's begin without any further ado. I
hope you will enjoy this journey we are embarking on together. There
will be roads that take us to serious places, and roads that take us
to silly places, because life, like God, is both serious and silly.
I will speak of things reverent and irreverent, relevant and
irrelevant, but rarely will I be reticent in my revelations, as we
motor along the highways and byways of life.
© Marie D. Jones 2003 |
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