Omni what?

Genesis 1: 1 – 5

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Yesterday’s piece caused at least one person to pass comment on my use of big words like omnipotent.

There is a story of a young Welsh rugby international just after the war, he came from the mining valleys and had it not been for his talent on the rugby pitch he would have spent his life unknown outside his family working in the pits. Rugby meant he got to travel and meet many different people from different walks of life. Rugby in those days of course was dominated by ex-public schoolboys who had then gone on to University, usually Camford. During the post-match dinner at Twickenham one of his England opponents mentioned that he was not saying much. In a Welsh accent you could cut with a knife he replied “Well” he said “it’s difficult to talk to you educated types, you’re always using unnecessary big words like corrugated and marmalade!”

So to use two unnecessary big words God is both omnipotent and omnipresent

Something a Minister was considering as he went to visit a young mum also just after the war. She was a war widow with two highly active sons. They were not bad boys but you could guarantee any mischief in the area if not started by them certainly involved them, and mum had come to the end of her tether with neighbours complaining. In the home the boys were kind, polite, did what was asked, completed their homework and attended Sunday School, so she found it difficult to understand why they were the way they were, but suspected the lack of a father figure might have something to do with it. Which is why she had asked the Minister to call round and have a word with them.

He too thought the tragic loss of their father might have a lot to do with it.

When he got to the house and talking it over with their mum they thought it would be better to speak to the boys individually, so it was that the younger one was ushered into “the front room” for a talk.

The kindly minister asked about how school was going, what hobbies he had, was he going to join BB when old enough and they were getting on well. The minister then became a bit more serious;

“Now I must ask you if you know where God is?”

“What do you mean minister?”

“Well I am sure you know where God is and I would like you to tell me”

The boy was silent and nervously looked round the room, he spotted that the door was open and that he could just about get to past the minister. So he made a dash for the door flew up the stairs crashed the door into the bedroom he shared with his brother, then turned and slammed it shut again and without a word started to drag a chest of drawers across the door to prevent it being opened. His shocked brother looked up from his book “What are you doing?”

“I’m barricading us in”

“Why?”

“Because we are in real trouble this time. Apparently God has gone missing and they think we’ve got him!”

God, though, never goes missing, he had been omnipresent in the events that had affected their lives, he had wept when their dad was killed, he had comforted their mum when she got the news, he had walked with her as she rebuilt her life and provided for her sons.

And I am sure he had a quite chuckle to himself when the minister’s well-intentioned questioning had gone ever so slightly wrong!

Prayer

Lord God our loving Father, omnipotent, all powerful, who knows how weak we are, give us your strength. Omnipresent you are with us all, loving, caring, forgiving, may we always know you are present with us.

In your Mercy hear our prayer,

Amen