Sunday

For the last few years, I’ve made it a point to have ‘Soulful Sunday’ – dedicating the day to doing things that feed my soul. Sometimes this involves going to church, and other times it involves spending time with the ones I love most – or myself.

While I think there’s benefit in going to a church for the aspect of community, I’m not a churchgoer that believes insitutionalized religion is the only – and best – pathway to having a real relationship with God. In similar fashion, you don’t get the true experience of driving a car by hanging around the car dealership; you get it while driving the car in the wild.

I’ve never had a ‘profound’ spiritual encounter between the walls of a church – but I have had several of them while doing the dishes.

For most of my life, I’ve struggled to fully accept, ebrace and practice a lot of the teaching that I’ve heard in the walls of a church. Why? In many cases, there are logical fallacies to the teachings that have become commonplace within church culture.

“Biblical inerrancy” for example (the idea that the bible is without error) is an argument that many will fight to the bitter end. However, there are many errors, omissions and contradictions in the bible that are clear as day to anybody with a fraction of a brain.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve wrestled to find my own relationship with God. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve discovered a deep reverence and profound relationship with God that has been spawned entirely outside of a church. Rather, the pieces of my relationship with God have come through my own journeying through life as an imperfect human being.

Just as I’ll never have a full understanding of the cosmos, laws of physics, mathmatics or human anatomy, I know that I will never be able to have a complete and utter understanding of God. However, there are things about God that speak to my heart in ways that are unseen by others, just as a mechanic will have a profound understanding of combustion engines that the masses will never know or appreciate.

To me, God is a lot like a great piece of art; perceived differently by every observer, who notices something unique and special in the piece that speaks to their heart, mind, senses or soul. Unlike an original piece of art, God can be found in each of our hearts if we make room for His/Her presence.

As a Dad, I have a much deeper understanding of love than those in their 20’s still in the world of ‘Uptown love’ – a romance kindled by cocktail dresses, happy hours and pool parties. “Dad love” is the type of Love that sees love, care and affection in every diaper change, late-night vomit fountain from a sick child, and sung through the screams of a woman giving birth to the life you created together. That’s the sort of love that has a foundation rather than a Plan B in the morning.

What does God want for each of us? I don’t feel entirely qualified to answer that question. However, I can give my own reflection of the answer by likening it to the life I hope that Atlas has as he grows older.

While I hope Atlas never breaks a bone, I hope that he never loses the spirit to play and take chances.

I hope he never experiences heartbreak – but I know that he will someday have his share of it, and I’ll be there to answer when he calls (after ignoring me for months because of his ‘love’ interest).

I’ll never be able to live his life for him, but I hope that I’m able to prepare him for a a great one where he learns his lessons, takes chances, makes mistakes and gets messy along the way.

What do I think God wants for people? More than a regular attendee at a church on Sunday, I think that God ways people to remember who He/She is, take time to honor, respect give thanks where it is due, and to live their lives to the very fullest measure possible.

A ship is safe in the harbor, but that isn’t what a ship was made for.