The REAL God

The author John records a curious recollection of when Jesus spit in the dirt, put that mixture into a blind man's eye, the blind man washed it out and then had perfect sight.  It's a very strange occurrence that got me thinking: just maybe God isn't who we think He is. It makes me think that God isn't afraid to get dirty...God's not some prude...God isn't against the strange and unusual... and He's not just about obeying a bunch of rules.  You know, God's the One who created sex...and Jesus was the one who turned water into wine--these are not exactly the works of the staunchy-crabby-narrow-minded-jerk that religion can paint Him out to be! And He's not like a fake-plastic kid's show host from the 1960's, either, complete with perma-smile and a make-believe world!  He knows every one of us inside and out and we aren't shocking or appalling or even surprising to Him--He knows who we are, He knows our most secret flaws and He loves us completely!

And how does putting spit mixed with dirt into a blind eye logically equal 20/20 vision?!  Now that sounds like the logic of someone who's had a little too much wine!  But actually, it just goes to show that we don't always have to understand what God's up to! God was never required to run all his plans by you or me!  I hope there's stuff out there that we don't understand --I mean, if He's God and He's so smart, then there's probably some stuff that He's gonna do that will go right over my head...some stuff that will put my brain in an all-out tantrum because I don't get it, I'll never get it, I wasn't meant to get it, it's whole purpose is to show me that (surprise!) God IS in charge...and I'm not!  All we ever need to know is that HE'S GOOD!  HE LOVES US!  HE HAS GOOD PLANS FOR US!

Then there's the other tricky thing: His good plans will probably happen differently than you or I imagined.  I mean, that blind guy wanted his breakthrough, he wanted to see, but what do you suppose he was thinking when he heard some guy spit on the ground and then scoop it up?!  We want breakthrough? Are we ready for it to look a little different than we thought it would look?  Are we ready for our breakthrough to arrive with a little dirt or a little spit mixed in?  Are we ready for God to be a little unconventional, a little unusual, maybe even a little uncomfortable?  

I don't think I just figured God out--the more I know the more I realize I don't know--but I do know He's more accepting and loving than I will ever comprehend and I am running with everything inside of me toward this authentic, genuine and REAL God!