Questions and relationships

I was reading Genesis 18 and 19 this morning, and thought some thoughts on that would make for a good first post to this blog. Abraham is taken into God's confidence. God shares with him something of what he is planning to do. But Abraham doesn't understand everything.

I wonder how well Abraham knew God when these events came about. There is so much behind the Biblical accounts we just don't know. God had called to Abraham and Abraham had acted on God's call in belief. He began to live an adventurous life under God's wing. That it wasn't all plain sailing is evident from the accounts themselves. There were lack of faith, doubt (which I don't think is the same thing), mistakes, new beginnings, and lots more besides. And all the time Abraham was learning to live with this God who at times seemed so mysterious and unfathomable. And that meant getting to know God.

This is what this passage is all about. Abraham doesn't understand; he's trying hard but he has so many questions. And God opens himself up. He gives Abraham a glimpse into who he is, and he will go on giving such glimpses (i.e. revelealing himself) throughout Abraham's life. That is what relationship is all about.

Today, we hear a lot about faith and trusting God. But it often seems as if open, honest questioning is frowned upon. If we believe, we believe unquestioningly; if we question, then we do not believe. That is not what God said or did to Abraham. When Abraham questioned God opened up.

This blog is for those who want to discover God. I believe that those who discover him will truly want to live in relationship with him. This journey of discovery will be centred on Scripture, because it is through Scripture that we find out who God is, how he acts, what he truly desires. So we will read Scripture and share our discoveries with one another. But our discoveries may sometimes unsettle us, cause us to question previously held beliefs, cause us to ask more about who this strange and mysterious God is. I hope we can be open with each other in our questioning and helpful to each other as we try to point to some ways God may be answering our questions.