By Dr. Kristen Barnes-Holiday, Contributing Writer
God is mystical and there isn’t a figure that could quantify the depth or grandeur of God. In Solomon 2:1 God is described as a “Lilly of the valleys,” and in 1 Timothy 1:17 we are reminded that God is an unseen, eternal Spirit. Psalm 40:17 illuminates God as a caretaker of humankind. There isn’t a deficit on gaining a surface-level idea of God IF you just briefly peruse the Bible.
While there are scriptures that capture the essence of who God is and ways in which God meets the needs of all people, God is just One that we have to come to know on our own accord. Sure, the Bible can give us an idea and spiritual leaders can help us even more–from Sunday School as small children to sitting in a sanctuary pew, as we take in the Word. Deep, thoughtful dialogue also assists us as we come to better understand and digest the essence of God. And might I also add that our understandings too can be shaped by our parents and a village of spiritual guides.
But questions remain and thoughts abound, still. May I ask, “How did you come to know God?”
Recently, I was reading the Bible and reviewing old notes. As I was studying the likes of Catherine of Siena (reformer and political activist), Athanasius (father of Christianity) and Rebecca Protten (Moravian evangelist). Catherine of Siena came to know God as she fasted, and hence suffered, in the name of the Lord. Athanasius came to know God as he served under the Bishop of Alexandria. And Rebecca came to know God through the teachings of Moravian missionaries. Each of their lived experiences and encounters with God inspired me, but it also prompted me to consider my own initial encounter with God. How did I come to know God?
As a child, I still recall the smell of a fresh pot of rice and tomato soup filling my great aunts’ house, as she filled my belly and my spirit. Aunt Stelle was her name, and she was a veteran of the US Army. A former business owner. Born during the Great Depression. She endured Jim Crow, a few U. S. Wars and even survived a few of her own personal traumas, like many human beings. But it was her experiences that shaped her into the Believer that she was. She knew that Christ was with her in her success and with her in her defeats. She KNEW God. As the aromas of food often filled her home, you knew that love lived there, too. As early as three years old, I remember her singing “Yes Jesus Loves Me,” and before long, I’d be joining in alongside her.
She KNEW God. And because of her faith and teachings, in part, I knew God too.
As I grew older, my relationship with God deepened; I begin to have encounters with God, as I wept on my bedroom floor. I came to KNOW God as my graduate education was partially funded through a fellowship, in which only three people within my university received. I CAME TO KNOW GOD when a severed relationship with my sibling was miraculously repaired. I came to know God when I accepted the call to ministry.
And now I pause, and ask the question once more, “How did you come to know God?”
Our encounters with God are not monolithic but they can be exclusive. God is mystical and therefore God cannot be boxed.
If I can offer any kind of advice, I’d say, allow the Spirit to move, but also, know that the Spirit is moving rather you open your heart or not. And if you believe that you have yet to have an encounter with God, hold on; God is with you and making Godself available to you, always.
Don’t forget this question; consider it often.
May God bless and keep you this holiday season.
Until next time…
Love and blessings
Dr. Kristen Barnes-Holiday, Ph.D., is a professor of English at Wayne County Community College District, a second-year divinity student at Duke University, and a Christian blogger. In addition, she is a teacher, preacher, and lifelong student of the Word of Jesus Christ.
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