God without the packaging

Lately, I've had a hard time accepting very much input of any kind. I'm wary of the hidden agendas and empty traditions things may hold.

I have been a Christ follower all my life - believed the right things, learned to say the right things and do the right things, and for the most part, even think the right things. I memorized scripture and the catechism, went to church, and ate large dinners on Sunday afternoons. I learned about not wearing your white shoes on Sunday until after Easter, and switching to your black ones in the fall.

But to me, so much of what I believed and did was the packaging God came in.

And I've thrown all the packaging away. At least, I've tried to.

What I'm really looking for is the real God - the Jesus of the Bible - the God of the ages - without the packaging. If the cheese can stand alone - I'm pretty sure God can, too.

So, I've been careful not to accept anything that may look like packaging - the extras humans have added to God in an attempt to live according to his agenda.

And I ask myself questions like - do I really have to listen to Christian music? Do I really need to raise my hands in worship - or not raise my hands? Do I have to go to potlucks and Bible studies? Do I have to attend church regularly, or do devotions?

And I challenge spirituality - is prayer this hocus-pocus weird hyper-spiritual talk, or can it just be a conversation with God? Do I have to "feel" God's presence, or is getting all emotional about faith another fooling point? What is more the reality - that I am a human being, or that I am a spirit being?

Unfortunately, what I'm finding, is that as a human, I need some of those "religious" extras in my everyday life in order to experience God in my everyday life. God set up the Isrealites as his people. He set up their entire culture - what they wore, what they ate, their celebrations and feasts. He set up their daily lives because he knew that as humans, there is reality in that. Perhaps if I were only a spirit being, I could experience and know God without any packaging at all. But, also being human - I'm finding I do need some packaging.

I'm trying to advance slowly - adding only packaging that seems Biblical to me - including reading the Bible, so I'll know what's right, and prayer. The rest seems to me to fall under Paul's yardstick of "whatever is beneficial". Do I need to listen to Christian music? No. Is it sometimes helpful because it speaks truth into my life? Yes. Do I need to go to church? The Bible does say not to neglect meeting together, so, ok - that's a yes. Can I skip once in a while? Sure.

There is a lot of needless packaging out there, that quite frankly sickens me. Maybe it can belong to someone else, though, so I have to be careful in saying too much. I guess what it comes down to is letting God apply himself into my life however he wishes to do so. I'm an emotional person, so for me, that will probably mean some emotional experiences along the way. I'm also kind of an every day person (who isn't I guess), so that will also mean that God and I may meet at the laundry pile, or by the sink, or in the van bussing kids around.

Maybe it's not so much that I have to go looking for packaging, as much as God shares the packaging that already forms my life. Kind of like Jesus did.

And then maybe there are moments where he calls me out of my human packaging to exist for a while with him in his spiritual packaging. Maybe he not only comes down and lives with me in my here and now, but also calls me up and beyond to live with him in his here and now.

I'm finding God rarely settles for either/or - he's usually about both/and.