Towers

I want to be close to God. I’m sure, at least I hope, I’m not alone in that. On days when God doesn’t seem so near, building a tower to get closer to him seems like a good idea.

Sometimes I’m tempted to think that those guys in Genesis 11 had a good idea. Only I’d build a tower with more noble intentions. Instead of trying to be famous like God, I’d build my tower so I could poke my head into heaven and have a look around.

I wonder how many of us are trying to get closer to God through our own efforts of elevation.

It seems like a good idea, doesn’t it? After all, where is God? He’s in heaven right? Now Heaven, as we all know, is up. Isn’t it?

Generally when we read the Bible we find all sorts of verses to support a “God’s up there and were down here” system of things. So we build towers, climb ladders, tie weather balloons to lawn chairs all to get higher and, therefore, closer to God – at least where God is supposed to be – to the place we understand is his home.

However, there are also verses that talk about God coming down and walking about the earth. What if he still does that? We’re often taught that God doesn’t do that anymore, but what certainty do these teachers have? What if God’s hiding out in some quiet corner of the woods, or the Rocky Mountains, or Coombs, or Central park just enjoying his creation? We are confident that, at the very least, his Spirit inhabits his people. God’s Spirit is on the earth.

So what if God isn’t just up there, but also down here? And what if we, through all our efforts of trying to get higher and closer to God, find ourselves somewhere in between? What if we’re missing God because we’re up in a tower out of touch from the dirt he’s walking on while yet not high enough to reach heaven?

Perhaps I should spend more time looking for God around here, and less time trying to climb my way to heaven.