For some, there is no God.
For some, God is a vague shadow around the edges of life
For some, God is tremendous presence, filling life, silencing speech
For some, God is found in the Bible and in the church
For some, God is named the Rock, the God of Israel,
For some, God is the Father to whom Jesus taught us to pray
For some, God is in Christ reconciling the world to himself
Some know God confidently in some form, under one name or another
Some seek God with all their heart, some in occasional bursts of longing
Some believe and some pray, I believe, help my unbelief
Some look for God in solitude, others in company, others in service
Some look for God as consolation for suffering, others in new Jerusalem down to earth
There are many who take God seriously, one way and another.
There are many who talk with themselves about God, seeking and finding, grieving and celebrating.
There are some who talk with one another, like women John Bunyan met, sitting in sunlight, on their doorsteps in Bedford, talking about the things of God.
There are, in short, many theologians in the world.
There are many who talk theology all their lives though never knowing.
God, we can see in the Bible, is a theologian too.
God talks God in his Word,
Through whom he creates all things,
So all things are there for his speaking,
Words for the Word
And the Word was made flesh
And speaks in life, a particular life,
In meaningful action, humanly chosen
God speaks God in the Spirit, sharing the Son
With those he chooses and holds on to
Those who know his voice and follow him.
God speaks God in all things
And in all things God is hard to follow,
Speaking God in what is not God
Truth in indirection
The word of God in human mouth
And God the Word puts into our argument
Sometimes a special word,
Clue and lever:
Child
First published in Entry Point: Towards Child Theology with Matthew 18, Haddon Willmer and Keith J. White, 2013.