God whispers.

It’s a fairly common expression that defines those little nudges of conscience that we attribute to God, reminding us of how we should behave. On occasion, it might be a more forceful reminder.

It happened to me recently. Not so much a whisper as it was a shove in the right direction.

As the author of these posts, I make no claim of special connection with our Creator. These musings are merely my personal reflections on the relationship between logic and faith. If some of these posts seem inspired, perhaps it is that phenomenon we call “God whispers.”

But, like anyone else, I have my moments of doubt as well. But, recently, I had an experience that might better be described as “God shouts,” rather than God whispers. Or, perhaps it was more of a shove.

Maybe I wasn’t listening for the whisper.

I had occasion to visit a local auto mechanic’s shop to arrange for some minor work on my car. As I walked from where I parked my car toward the front door, a young woman arrived at the same time. We went in together. When the owner came out to greet us, I indicated that the young woman had arrived first, so the owner spoke to her about her issue.

I listened as the mechanic explained that the brakes on her car needed to be repaired, but, more importantly, the rear tires were so badly worn that they were on the verge of total failure. He quoted her a price for the job.

Obviously distressed, she pleaded for a better deal since she could not afford the cost at this time. The mechanic kindly offered to find her some cheaper tires, but insisted that the tires absolutely needed to be replaced. The brake job, he offered, could be delayed for a while.

When the owner/mechanic left the room to research cheaper tires, the young woman sat in a chair next to where I sat waiting my turn. Knowing that I had overheard her conversation, she began to tell me her circumstances, probably out of embarrassment. She explained that she was a college student with a part-time job at a local home goods store where she worked for less than minimum wage and hadn’t had a raise in some time. She went on to explain that she desperately needed her car to attend her classes.

After a few moments, she stepped outside to speak to her boyfriend who was waiting outside in his vehicle.

That’s when the miracle occurred.

When the owner returned to tell her he had located some less expensive tires for her car, I stepped up to the counter and told him, “I have an extra one hundred dollars that I can spare toward her repair bill.”

The reason I call this a miracle is because I hadn’t pondered on the situation. I hadn’t been particularly touched by her plight. I hadn’t debated with myself. I just stepped forward and made the offer.

I was compelled. There was no hesitation, no thought, no voices in my head, just action.

It wasn’t so much as a God whisper as it was a realization that my purpose in being in that place, in that moment was to be what she needed, when she needed it.

Even as a believer, I can honestly say, nothing like this has ever happened to me in my life.

Perhaps God had been whispering to me but I just wasn’t listening.

Maybe, running out of patience, He just gave me a shove.

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Perhaps the most overlooked message of the Bible is the concept of forgiveness. Maybe “overlooked” is the wrong term. Maybe a better term would be “ignored,” or “avoided.”

Let’s face it. Forgiveness is probably one of the most difficult acts that we humans attempt. And more often than not, we fail to fully accomplish the task.

Maybe that’s why the Lord’s Prayer pleads – “forgive us our trespasses,” rather than “forgive me my trespasses.” It is a universal human struggle.

The problem with addressing forgiveness as a simple act is that the spectrum of wrongs that require forgiveness is vast. It might be easy to forgive your spouse for snagging that last piece of pie that you had your eye on. It is a much more difficult task to forgive the neighbor who poisoned your dog or to forgive the hoodlum who assaulted your teenage daughter.

There’s the catch.

The next line in the Lord’s Prayer states, “as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

That line alone clearly shows how far removed we are from the perfection and love that God represents. That line alone illustrates how desperately we need forgiveness above and beyond that of which we are  capable.

Forgiveness means shedding a whole host of human emotions. We need to discard anger, hate, resentment, jealousy, and any number of other human emotions that prevent us from forgiving. It means forgetting wrongs committed against us. It means rejecting the idea of revenge. It means expressing love for those we deem unlovable.

Forgiveness, in those extreme cases, is so foreign to our own self-image, our concept of right and wrong, that we find it difficult, if not impossible, to imagine. After all, our criminal justice system is based on the idea of paying a penalty for wrongdoing.

Many of us yearn for a closer connection to God, and we wonder why we are unable to accomplish that. Perhaps our inability to forgive is the stumbling block. Is it possible that learning to forgive is the key to strengthening our connection to God?

Finally. Hidden in the message of forgiveness is a human bonus that, in itself, brings us closer to our God. Complete forgiveness relieves us of the burden of the memory of the wrongs that plague us.

From a human standpoint, there is no easy answer to the question of forgiveness. But, it is exactly that obstacle that prevents us from closing the gap between our human existence and the spiritual perfection that God would wish us to achieve.

In our human, imperfect form, we may never be able to achieve the level of love that our God would like us to achieve, but practicing forgiveness – at least in the minor issues – might put us on the right path.

It is probably the most profound verse of the Bible.

“Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Different translations word it differently, but the basic statement from Jesus instructs His followers to allow children to approach Him.

It is easy to miss the importance of this simple statement.

Most important is the closing part of the statement – “for, of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

Childhood is a universal experience, and part of that experience is the transition from the innocence of a child to the doubting status of adulthood. As adults, we have learned to require proof. We have learned to dismiss concepts that we are unable to confirm with logic.

As children, we are unhampered by those doubts. The same innocence that allows children to believe in human-generated fantasies such as Santa Claus, makes children capable of accepting the concepts of Christianity without challenge.

Unfortunately, the same process of learning to doubt fantasies becomes attached to faith beliefs for similar reasons. Without logical evidence, belief suffers.

But logic can also come to the rescue.

While our adult logic can be a barrier to faith, it can also give us a clue to a reality that we have lost our ability to experience. Children, in their early years, seem to be capable of experiencing connections with what we might term the “other side.” Invisible playmates and conversations with imaginary friends are common.

As adults, most of us have lost that ability. What’s the reason?

Children, especially in their early years, have not yet learned to doubt. They have not learned to subject their experiences to a reality test. They are likely to accept their encounters at face value. Over time, children learn to doubt based on their everyday interactions with the adults in their lives.

As adults, most of us have lost the ability to sense messages from the other side. Most of us have developed mental calluses that prevent us from using our hidden and underused senses.

The consequence is that, when it comes to our faith, we adults are handicapped. We have lost the innocence that allows us to accept what we cannot experience with our other senses. We have to work at it by employing our tools of logic to understand and accept what comes naturally to young children.

We need to flip an old expression – “seeing is believing.” Our goal, the key to connecting with that Higher Power, is to embrace the flip of that expression and understand that “believing is seeing.”

Such is the kingdom of heaven.

The Bible reports that God created man in His image. Considering all the nuances of translation and the changing nature of human communication in general, it might be fair to question what that phrase actually means.

Does “in His image” mean a physical being with two legs, two arms, and a full head of hair? Or, does it mean something else?

Perhaps we have it backward. There is greater evidence that man has created God in a human image.

There is little question that artists have eagerly adapted this concept to their creations. Museums and religious sites across the globe bristle with images inspired by the words of the Bible. Over the centuries, countless artists have attempted to portray an image of God, usually as a wise senior citizen with a white beard and hair.

In all probability, none of those artists have met Him in person.

As human beings, we are handicapped by the limitations of our senses. We cannot grasp the idea of an entity that exists solely as a form of incomprehensible energy. So, we create an image of God that our senses will recognize. We speak of the “hand” of God, the “voice” of God, or of seeing God, face-to-face.

In essence, we create an image of God in our imagination because it is the only tool we have.

If we are created in God’s image, perhaps it is simply as living beings that have self-awareness and free will.

Perhaps the true definition of “God’s image” rests in that concept of free will, and the opportunity of each human being to strive for perfection and unconditional love.

It seems we live in an age of connections. We have internet. We have social media, blue tooth, cable television, and wi-fi. It’s about entertainment and communication. It’s about loving, learning, and earning. More recently, it’s about artificial intelligence to relieve us of the burden of thinking for ourselves.

One of the most important connections is the topic of love. We love our favorite ice cream flavor. We love our favorite restaurant or our favorite vacation spot. We love our favorite sports team. We love our children, our pets, and, of course, our spouse.

Somehow, along the way, we have drifted away from the greatest source of love and the importance of that love in our lives – and beyond. Love is such a critical element in humanity that it is mentioned over 300 times in the Bible.

You don’t need to be a Bible scholar to recognize the importance of love to the human condition. Nor do you need to be a scholar to recognize one of the most oft-quoted verses – John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Somehow, that single verse has become so familiar, that we have lost sight of the enormous power that it represents. On rare occasions, we are witness to that power, even on a human scale. We might see it when a school teacher shields a student with her body during an active shooter situation. We might see it when a man rushes into a burning building to save his spouse, or when someone braves a raging river to rescue a drowning victim.

We might understand the power of love if we just stand back from all the debates about religion and embrace the basic concepts that were the original Ten Commandments and the entire ministry of Jesus. Do not steal, do not covet, do not lie, do not kill. Love your neighbor. Forgive. Every one of the Ten Commandments and the examples of Jesus’ ministry can be defined as an expression of love.

Each of us longs for the blessings of our Creator. Each of us yearns for that love connection. Each of us wonders how we go about strengthening our connection with God.

Perhaps the answer is contained in Matthew 22:37. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

For most of us, that is a tall order. Exactly how are we supposed to do that in the course of our busy and complicated life?

Perhaps we make it more complicated than it needs to be. Perhaps all we need to do is live a life of appreciation – appreciation for all the blessings we take for granted every day. And, then express that appreciation by striving to live a life of giving and forgiving, and forging an unbreakable connection with a loving God.