A friend dropped in and we shared our thoughts of the future. We are of similar age and pondering what the next iteration of life will be for us. Such conversations inevitably lead to discussion on work or career and in the midst of this my friend said an interesting thing, ‘I never tell anyone what I do’. Before you become over creative he is not a spy or MI5 operative, as far as I know! His explanation was understandable because he works in financial IT. He thinks his job is boring, not worthy of explanation, I suspect this view is because he is good at it and the rest of us would be lost trying to understand it. He added ‘and besides my job is not who I am’.
I love the idea that our identity – who we are – is not what we do – Bob the builder . In speaking with Moses and in answer to the question, who shall I say sent me, God says ‘I am who I am’. On some level that just sounds unhelpful or evasive. Try giving that answer to a policeman next time you are routinely stopped and see how it goes.
Of this encounter between Moses and God with a backdrop of the burning bush there is a complex set of thoughts. God is self existent and no one thing describes or defines God. Giving God a name or description would be a reduction of God to the limit of our understanding. I like to think that what Moses heard sounded a bit like ‘you just wouldn’t get it if I tried to explain it to you’. I do have some sympathy with Moses, imagine being sent to the shop floor of a factory to tell everyone there are new rules about break time or there is no overtime! They are going to want to know who says so and you will want to say the big cheese says so! And actually theologians tell us that ‘I am who I am’ sort of means the big cheese in Hebrew.
Is it at all possible that as helpful as the many names and descriptions given to describe or get a grip on who God is may reduce our capacity to relate to God? Work or activity is part of who we are and the nature of God’s creative spirit in us wants to be active and creative. But first and foremost we relate to God and God to us outside of what we do or what God does. Jesus called us brothers and sisters. Often in the Bible we are identified as family and encouraged to relate on a spiritual level not organisational or an economic level. This is true of how we relate to God too.
We know that a true friendship happens when we get past the I’m a pharmacist bit and get down to the I feel love, hate, envy, hope, kindness…. It’s there that we begin to discover who someone really is. I have some beautiful friends who have shared the deepest parts of their souls and I to them. This I believe is possible with God – to know God and be known by God.
When Jesus said in John 15:15 I have called you friends it was an indication that we might approach God on the basis of friendship. Good friends speak plainly, honestly openly. Of course we find what each of us does fascinating but our interest is much deeper than that. I love that God burned a bush to get Moses’ attention and parted the sea to free a people group, but we can love God without those things. It doesn’t mean we don’t ask God, just like when asking any friend for help. My relationship with Colin my plumber mate is not based on whether he can fix the leaky tap, neither is our relationship with God based on what God can do either for us or to impress us.
Maybe this week we could explore knowing God as I Am not as I Am Who Moves Mountains and Heals the Sick. Just a thought!
Rob Wykes 