Wednesday, January 3, 2018

God's Magnetic Personality

I remember playing with magnets as a child and being fascinated by the strong attraction between the north and south poles that made them snap together and resist being separated. This memory surfaced because of a line in an article by Patty Fawkner, SGS, in which she compared God to a magnet.

When it comes to magnetic personalities, you might say that God is unparalleled! A magnet produces its own magnetic field that then interacts with other magnetic fields. The magnetic field produced by God is so powerful that it attracts all of us, even atheists (who, after all, spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about God).

Although we are made in the image of God, we are not God, so when we try to approach God as an equal (south pole to south pole), the action is repellant and we are distanced from God. However, when we go “true north” and remember who we are—persons who came into being through God’s love—our fields become aligned and we and God become a strong, almost inseparable force.

I like the idea of being attracted to God instead of being pursued by God (as with the “hound of heaven” image). God always extends the invitation to “come ‘round right” and be united in love. Stanley Mooneyham noted, “Love talked about can be easily turned aside, but love demonstrated is irresistible,” and God is constantly displaying love for us, most notably through the incarnation we celebrate during the Christmas season. May we enjoy the fruits of alignment with God in the year to come!

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