“HOW DO YOU THINK OF GOD?” and “When do feel most close to God?” These were two questions posed by my local newspaper, The Kalamazoo Gazette. They were soliciting replies in writing. Four were printed in the Gazette in the “Faith” section on March 1, 2008 and the balance can be read at www.mlive.com/kzgazette. Click on “Gazette Extra.”

Of the 29 responses, at least one was an atheist. All of them make interesting reading and reveal a great deal about whether we believe God is personal or impersonal. I was one of the several dozen submitted and my offering is as follows:
“God walked into my life when I was unprepared. As an 18-year-old, I was searching for purpose and meaning in my life. I looked for these in religion and discovered them in a person. God the Son revealed himself to me and in doing so met all the needs of my heart. When I received him into my life, I was forgiven, adopted into his forever family and given a task to complete.
God is all about relationship. His Spirit and my spirit have established a partnership of sorts. He is the senior partner, and I am happy to work with him to accomplish his goals.
Trying to explain God is a little like trying to explain a kiss. You can check the dictionary definition: "A caress with the lips; a gentile touch or contact."
But does that really capture the essence of what a kiss is? Does that describe what a mother does when she tenderly places her lips on the forehead of her newborn child? Is that what the young lover does when he says good night to his girl?
Just as words cannot completely capture all that is involved in what we know by experience and attempt to describe as a "kiss," we also cannot fully comprehend, explain, or define "God." We can, however, know him through experiencing his revelation of himself to us in his word and in the person of Jesus Christ.
Of all the attributes assigned to God in the Bible, none is more appealing than his love. As John wrote in his third epistle, "How great is the love that the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God "(3:1). It has been said that love is not a quality that God possesses but rather the all-embracing totality of what he is. When this love is shed abroad in one's heart, it is a powerful force, enabling us to love our enemies, care for the hurting, reach out to the dying and, most especially, long for the lover. It is wonderful to know that God loves us personally, no matter what our experience has been. His love transcends all barriers, and each one of us is most precious in his sight.”
John 3:16 captures the essence of God's great love: "For God (greatest lover) so loved (the greatest degree) the world (the greatest extent) that he gave (the greatest act) his only begotten son (greatest gift) that whosoever believes in him (greatest opportunity) should not perish (greatest promise) but have eternal life (the greatest possession)."