Yesterday I was grateful to have the opportunity to reconnect with an old friend. He and I go as far back as our college days, and we’ve kept in touch off and on throughout the years.
Here’s what brought us together: God.
No, not in the way you’re thinking. I don’t know if there was some divine force at work or not. Most of you readers know that I’m not even entirely certain that there IS a God, much less one that actively influences the events in my life both large and small.
A few months back I was really doing some soul-searching and research (internally and externally) on the idea of God. There are several very wise and educated men that I have the privilege of knowing that are devout enough in their faith that I feel it only appropriate to refer to them as “Men of God”. They’re quite a diverse group, belonging to different faiths and religions, and believing in different things in some instances and the same things in many others.
Well, this particular friend came back onto my radar a month or so ago, and I asked if he’d be wiling to indulge me in a discussion about God and his religion. Now, I’m not necessarily looking for God, and I’m certainly not looking for a religion. More than anything, I’m fascinated by these men, these educated and learned men who not only believe in a divine being, but in one that has provided an instruction manual full of rules and rituals for paying homage and worshipping his Omnipotence.
From a reasonable and logical perspective (which I consider mine to be), it just doesn’t make sense. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there ISN’T a God, or higher power, or SOMETHING out there greater than I am, just that it defies the reason of my own mind that He (or She, or It or Whatever) takes such an interest in my existence among the billions of others out there, and that He requires adherence to a set of peculiar rules and participation in solemn ceremonies and holy rituals. I could spend hours on the subject of how downright ridiculous it all seems to me. I don’t say that to be offensive, or to attack or ridicule anyone else’s beliefs, I just sincerely don’t get it.
But it was for this reason that John and I originally got together. We’ve got enough history together that I didn’t have to waste any energy on worrying about offending him. I had no interest in attacking his religion or his beliefs, I was genuinely seeking further knowledge. As is typical, he and I could have sat there for hours, sipping coffeh and dialoguing back and forth. I don’t know if I got any solid answers, but what I found was infinitely more valuable – a rekindled friendship.
