more what is gospel ..

thing is
being a child of God is a ..
being a disciple is a ..
being ' in-Christ ' is a ..

it's not what i ' believe '
God isn't my God because i believe something(s) about God
that means nothing, really
so when we posit a list of propositions that say God is this or that
and then draw lines around that list, such that if a person can check-off the things on the list they're ' in ', if not they're not ' in ' ... that's so .. pedantic
actually, it reduces God to a theory

i know i went all the way east there
but i'm trying to get my lame brain to wrap around this, which flies in the face of my spiritual history ..

God is a person
we don't have relationships with propositions
we don't talk to lists
we don't listen to doctrine
propositions and checklists and doctrines are not alive

we relate to living persons
and God is just that ..
and the perfect presentation of God in person is God-in-person=Jesus
mine is to call on God
whoever he is
and ask him to speak
to me
i want to know him

i have Scripture, thankfully
and that allows me to know about God
but it's not God himself

Hebrews ( my favourite book ) points to knowable revealed God in Jesus as the definition of who God is
and Jesus is a human
Hebrews 1.1 ff
Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, however, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him. 
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. 

therefore, mine is to know this man, Son of Man, in order to fully appreciate who God is

while i can learn things about God from Scripture
i cannot know God there
knowing someone involves time spent with that person
asking
listening
talking
simply being with them
sharing presence

...

i'm struggling ( again ) to express my thinking that our historic propositional ' faith ' is, for the most part, not useful in making disciples
and what is termed ' the great commission ' is precisely that - make disciples
not make believers

a disciple is someone who sees and knows something of a person, and determines to be just like that person
whatever that person is, i want to be
just like that ..
it's almost, i want to be him/her

but you start with the person
i have to have a relationship with them to learn from them
i have to be with them to learn them, understand them, get to know their thinking, their motivations ..

why are we so afraid of ' knowing ' God ??
why does it have to be what we learned from a book ??
because we westerners are intellectually-oriented
we look for facts and data and base our thinking there
while God says ' anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who search diligently for him '
put in other words, ' without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him ' ( Hebrews 11.6 )  ..

2 things there ..
faith is necessary; it is indispensable
we must seek God diligently
it is the person of God i look to know
not facts about God ..

that then is the basis of these couple blog posts
presenting Got to people in gospel tract format or Bible format only provides them with information about God
it is not God
that person must have a desire to know God for themselves
be in relationship with God

i ' believe ' that we have walked a dread path of propositional belief
and left people thinking they know God because they know stuff about God ..

if i leave my relationship with God to the things i believe about God, i'm in deep doodoo
that would be similar to loving what i know about my wife
i don't love what i know
i love a person

go there

we've reduced relationship with God to knowing about God
and the twain shall never ever meet

.. still thinking on it