THE ESSENCE (i.e., “GOD”)
Guest Writer: Gary Kimmel
“The difference between you and God is that God never thinks he is you.” – Anne Lamott in Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers (Hodder & Stoughton, 2001)
God is the essence of Creation. That essence may be a noun (e.g., tree, rain, child) or a verb (love, parenting, growing). It is not for us to put in a box; it is not for us to understand. Rather, it is for us to experience and embrace.
My concept of “God” has evolved over my life. Initially, “God” was the outstretched hand on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, human in nature reaching out in a paternal touch. But, for a long time, I have thought of “God” in much more non-human terms. Once, I compared “God” to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics – the force that provided equilibrium to creation. While I didn’t really believe this, it gave my mind something to hold on to that was not predicated on making “God” human.
We were made in the image of God, not the other way around. Unfortunately, we have often relegated God to the limits of a human being.
Over the past several years, our study group has explored sources that in some way discuss “God,” most often from a very broad and comforting perspective. Most recently, I have found that the term Essence captures as much as possible my concept of “God.” It is not a single identifiable object or condition. Rather, it pervades all and is the defining entity of everything, including that elusive energy that ties all Creation together.
I have put “God” in quotes because I have found the term so co-opted by the personification of the concept that it is no longer meaningful to me. In fact, the perpetuation of the human-like “God” in our minds may keep us from evolving within Creation. For the moment, Essence will suffice for me.
Gary Kimmel
Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/