Devotion

God has been related to and described with such terms as a Higher Power, Divine Energy, a Force, the Almighty, Absolute Being, Divine Being, etc. As well, God has even been described with theological concepts and doctrines akin to the academic; however, all such terms and relationships are quite impersonal when we reflect on the fact that God can be challenging to explain. Who is God? What is God?

For example, it can be hard to express devotion, to fall in love with, or to develop a fondness for a form of energy. Likewise expressing devotion through concepts and doctrines held within one’s intellectual mind is nigh impossible and quite ego-centered. 

The Orthodox Nativity chant proclaims with a beautiful simplicity, “God with us.” Here is God in a human being; our God to whom we can open our heart and with whom we can develop an ever-deepening devotion.

Perhaps this is why God revealed himself in the person of Jesus, whose birth we commemorate soon and whose entrance into the world split apart history as we knew it.

Spend some time this week silently gazing upon both the manger and upon Christ Jesus on the cross. Doing so can open a space in our heart where devotion to God is both born and sustained.