"Quick, What is God Like?"

A little girl rushed up to her newborn brother in his hospital room and asked, “Quick, what is God like?”  She shrewdly figured that, having just come from Heaven, he might have some inside information.   (Philip Yancey, The Bible Jesus Read, 26-27)

Isn’t that a great question?  Quick, how would you answer? As a leader in your church and association, there are many who look to you for answers. That story came from a book purchased at the CVBM Leadership Development Conference that was held in September.  It reminded me that as leaders in our church and association – many people look to us for answers.  It reinforced for me how important it is that we get to know God better. Reading God’s Word and participating in training and mission opportunities can help us help others know what God is like.  Why is that so important?

Christianity grew only 7% between 1990 and 2001, having the slowest growth rate among religions in America.  To put that into perspective, during that same time period:

Mormonism grew by 112%

Humanism grew by 169%

Islam grew by 210%

Buddhism grew by 270%

Hinduism grew by 337%

The Wiccan religion (a contemporary form of paganism that includes goddess worship) grew the fastest:  1,675%

So many Americans claim no religion at all (15%, up from 8% in 1990) that this category now outranks every other major US religious group except Catholics and Baptists.

(“How Americans Describe Their Religious Identity 1990-2008” USA Today)

And consider the recent art exhibit in Washington, DC that marked the first-ever International Blasphemy Day (September 30) at the Center for Inquiry DC near Capitol Hill.  The Blasphemy Challenge encouraged people to upload their denials of faith to YouTube. (USA Today, 10/2/09)   

This Christmas let’s make it a priority to tell someone what God is like.  1 Corinthians 2:4-5 reminds us that no matter how simple our words are--- when we share our faith it is a demonstration of God’s power:

“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom  but on God’s power (I Corinthians 2:4-5).

Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas season filled with opportunities to discover even more what God is like, and a holiday season filled with hope, peace, joy, and love.

Blessings,

Nita May