"God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things." Acts 17:24-25Sometimes, we like to put God into a box. We like for God to be exactly the image we have on our wall. We like for God to be the chants, the incense, the organ, the icons, the statues, the gold, the marble, the cushy pews. In our attempts to bring God to others, though, we end up putting God into a cage. We draw limits.
These limits we place on God can become very isolating. Sometimes, these limits can be from something as simple as a lack of cultural understanding. Maybe the chorales you've grown up singing don't mean anything to someone who grew up singing coros. Someone who grew up kneeling and yelling before God doesn't get what standing and listening to prayers even means. If we don't try to understand these differences (at the very least), we can get into some major trouble. God is the thing we keep in the wooden box, not the one in the ceramic vase.
But who is God? None of our words are enough to even touch on what God is. In the Bible, we have countless examples trying to explain God. In the end, though, we must remember that God is not dead. God is living in each of us, every day. We don't give life to God. It's the other way around: God gives life to us all.
When we put aside our differences, we can start to understand God more. When we put aside our thoughts and prejudices, we can start to witness God. When we try singing that new song or reading that new prayer, we can experience God. God comes to us from many languages and cultures, but God is the same living God that compels us to become better people.
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