Scripture: Exodus 25:21 – “You shall put the cover on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I am giving you.” (NRSVue)
Where is God in your life? This can mean different things. Is God in a physical location? Is God in metaphorical places like your family or your behaviors? Is God in your heart?
The question of “where is God?” was one that was transformed by the ancient religion of the Israelites and continues to be transformed today. In ancient times, gods were local. There was a god of one city or people who was different from a god of another nation or people. And while empires liked to say that the local gods were just manifestations of their dominant deity, the truth was that gods “lived” in the places where they were worshipped: shrines and temples. Often, the gods were represented in idols which could be venerated with gifts and sacrifices.
The Israelites rejected this notion. God was not in a place; God was with a people. In the story of Exodus, God travels with the people as a cloud, an ephemeral presence that leads them along the way. When the laws for worship are given to Moses, there is the construction of the Ark of the Covenant, which is to hold the stone tablets upon which the law is written. It is not a statue, it is a library, a repository for God’s wisdom and guidance through life. Whenever they saw the Ark, they knew that God was with them in an invisible, but real way.
As time progressed, the Ark was placed in the Temple as God’s footstool until it was pillaged or offered in tribute to a foreign empire who likely melted it down for gold. But by then, the people did not need a physical artifact to remind them of God’s presence. They just needed the traditions and relationships within their community. They realized that God was not “out there”, but present in their hearts. And after the coming of Jesus, Christians realized that God could be known as a person who walked among them and taught them to love both the invisible and visible God around us.
Again, where is God in your life? Is God in a place? Does God live in a church, the beach, or the woods? Does God live in a people, in your family, neighborhood, or nation? Does God live in tradition, in the stories we tell and the rituals, sacred and secular, that we perform in God’s name? Does God live in our hearts, a presence that comforts when we are weary, chides us when we are thoughtless, and moves us to acts of peace and justice? Does God live through the church, a combination of place, social group, tradition, and inner presence?
The old hymn says that God moves in mysterious ways. But God does not live in a box; even the Israelites who made that box knew that. As you pray today, think about how God is not always where we think, and look for God in new places, people, behaviors, and ideas. God is always moving; how is God moving you today?
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to find you in my life and to free you from the confining boxes I create for you. Amen.
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