more than a word...

some refer to him as "god"

others... "God"

still others... "g?d"

and some... "G?D"

most of us like to think we think of him as "GOD"

but of course, some suggest he's "god?" or even "???"

while a few laugh and say "000"

but i find it helpful to think of him as "G*D"

so often... too often... we use terms for The Uncreated ONE so casually.  we fail to connect our thoughts and our hearts to the image behind the word.  we do to G*D what we would never do to someone we love... that is... we de-image them. 

i once met a lady scooting down the hall of a nursing home.  the orthodox cross she wore around her neck betrayed a bit of her history.  but like words, sometimes we wear images that suggests a connection that isn't there... or is less than the image we wear advertises.

as we talked... i commented on her necklace, and asked, "what does Jesus mean to you?"

the eyes that had previously been fixed on mine, slowly drifted beyond me... and i could tell she was transported to someplace in the past or future... or both.  they began to redden... glisten...  ...and after what seemed like a minute or two... i heard her whisper just one word.

"everything"

but i got the feeling she wasn't talking with me anymore... but to someONE far more engaging.

we were talking with our kids the other day about their names... and why we chose each one.  most of them are names of family members or friends.  special people... whose images don't exactly pop into our minds every time we call one of our kids for dinner or "encourage" them to pick up their clothes.  but... we think about those people pretty often just the same... ...mainly because their names have a bedroom and regularly clean out the fridge. 

and i guess the fact that we marked one of our children with their image suggests that we wanted their significant to invade us regularly and continue beyond our last breaths.

i met jesus the other day.  he lives not too far from me in a house with his wife and kids.  i wonder what his parents were thinking when they gave him his name.

i want Jesus to live in my house.