Our Communicating Cosmos

In this chapter Dallas Willard tries to help us understand how ones view of the world can either serve as an ally or an obstacle in their pursuit of God. The epigraph of this chapter well sums up the theme:

"Earth's crammed with Heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees takes off his shoes." - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The passage she is referring to is from the book of Exodus when Moses the shepherd was tending to Jethro's flock on mount Horeb. It was there that the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush. Moses' next words are very instructive for the purpose of this chapter; he says, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up" (Exodus 3:3).

This "turning aside" is a necessary element in becoming the kind of person that can receive communication from the God who is, and is everywhere. He is a God that can speak from a bush, a donkey, a cloud. He may even deliver a word from Himself through you. By learning to "turn aside" and investigate, we may find that the talkative God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is continuously trying to communicate with us.

But there are many people who have beliefs and assumptions about reality that will not allow them to hear from God through any available means. Many people resemble those in the Bible who were constantly asking for a sign from Jesus, but no sign was given. No sign was given because they already had their minds made up. As Willard says, "Our preexisting ideas and assumptions are what actually determine what we can see, hear, or otherwise observe... Our beliefs and opinions cannot, therefore, be changed by stories and miraculous events alone, since they present a correct perception of those very stories and events."

Therefore, it is necessary for ones understanding to grow so that they can appreciate the sign or experience of God's intervention. "We must," says Willard, "have correct general understanding of God and his ways." One can do this by turning to the Scriptures. By studying the Scriptures in a faithful and wise community, one will see what God is like, and they will be able to respond in faith to the God they are coming to know. As always, the intensity of ones desire to know God, leads to God letting them find him. (Proverbs 2:3-5)

All of this, says Willard, "must be kept clearly in view as we go on to consider the basic questions: What kind of world do we live in? and How does God relate to us, confined as we are within it?"

Willard then focuses on 4 areas that he thinks keeps people from believing a conversational relationship with God is possible.

1. God Would Not Communicate with Run-of-the-mill Human Beings.

The reason many believe that God would not is because of a misleading understanding of what it means to be great. When we think of those who are humanly great (entertainers, politicians, CEO's, etc.) one of the characteristics that we associate with them is inaccessibility. (This is why people name drop, by the way.) They are hard to get to; indeed, oftentimes people will wait in lines just to receive an autograph, or take a picture. That is our image of what it means to be great. Unfortunately, for many, this carries over to their thoughts about God. But God's greatness is true greatness because of his capacity to know all and be known by all. "His greatness is precisely what makes him able, available and ready to hear and speak personally with his creatures."

2. God Does Not Communicate in that Way.

Others simply believe that God does not speak to them. Perhaps they haven't ever had a solid experience of His speech, therefore they have arrived at the conclusion that He does not speak to humans.

The first way that Willard responds is by asking if the person is "in tune" with God. He rightly points to the fact that right now waves are going through our bodies that have information in them. The reason we don't hear them is because the TV/radio is off, or we are not tuned in to the right station. So it is with God, "The heavens are telling the glory of God, (Psalm 19:1)" but the reason people don't hear is because they aren't tuned in, they haven't "turned aside to see." This is actually a grace from God. It is part of His divine conspiracy. That is, he makes it possible for those who want to avoid hearing to do so, while those who want to hear can also do so.

The second question Willard asks is, "Are we ready vessels?" In other words, "do they stand ready to obey and change if God directs that? Do they want to know if they are on a wrong path?" See, for some people hearing from God would be an exercise in futility, because they are not ready to respond to the word God speaks. God's word is a take it or leave it thing; it is not dependent upon ones like or dislike of it, but it is always good, because it is always God's. This places some people in a position where they may not be hearing from God because they are not prepared to obey the God who speaks.

"When our lives are devoted to the will of God, he has reason to speak to us. If our lives are not devoted to his purpose, he may still speak to us and even use us for his purposes if we are strategically placed... But for a willing walk in conscious, loving cooperation with God, we must come to grips with the issue What are we living for? We must face it clearly... Perhaps we do not expect [to hear the voice] because we know that we fully intend to run our lives on our own and have never seriously considered anything else. The voice of God would therefore be an unwelcome intrusion into our plans."

3. God Cannot Communicate.

Many people simply think that communication with God is impossible because of the layout of the physical universe – he is too far away. We are in an age that has long pitted science against religion, many of the supposedly knowledgeable individuals are naturalistic in their thinking. This means that, for them, the physical universe is all there is; or, if there is a God, he is beyond the physical reality. Such thinking fails to understand that any physical reality began with, and continues by its relation to, a spiritual reality. This can be seen by simply observing where things first originate. Right now I am typing on an iPad. Where did the concept of an iPad begin? It was a thought – a non physical form of communication – that lead to a physical object. This is a simplistic way of pointing out the fact the spiritual and physical realities are not oil and water, but they mingle together. Chapter 3 in the Divine Conspiracy is helpful on this topic.

"Conversational life with God – or prayer – is not hindered by space and distance. When you speak to God, it is like speaking to someone next to you." This is a fundamental truth about the reality of God that can be seen clearly through Scripture. How often did God speak, "out of the atmosphere (from the heavens)?" Remember, his greatness does not reduce his capacity to interact, but it increases it. And though we may not be able to point and say, "There is God," it doesn't mean that we can point and say, "God is not there." The example Willard uses is of ones own body. If we could shrink down to size, like the old Magic School bus books, and enter someone's body, we also could not point and say, "There she is." But we could not also conclude, "She was not there." An imperfect illustration, to be sure, but it is helpful.

4. God Should Not Communicate With Humans (Fallen as we are).

Lastly, is the idea that God should not speak with humans. Given the solid record of humanities proclivity to abuse power, some conclude that even if God could speak with humans, he should not do it. But this line of thinking fails to consider 1) the nature of the God who is speaking. And 2) the transformative power of being spoken to by God. Certainly bad examples abound. As Willard said in an earlier chapter, "God's word is infallible, but those who receive it are not." This means abuse and misuse is always possible. But as one seeks to place their confidence in the God that speaks, they will also want everyone to grow in confidence in Him. They will be like Moses who desired that, "all the Lord's people were prophets" (Numbers 11:29). This kind of leadership keeps away cultic tendencies, and makes possible a community in which, "God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven."

But how does a community of those learning to hear God guard against misusing the word of God. Willard provided a helpful quote from Jean Darnell,

If you believe God has told you to do something, ask him to confirm it to you three times: through his word, through circumstances, and through other people who may know nothing of the situation.

This models the Old Testament pattern of confirming a testimony on the strength of 2-3 witnesses.Take some time to hear God in Scripture by reading and praying through 2 Kings 6:11-17. If you like you can use the method I adopted from Jeanne Guyon.