God of the Street Corner

In our current age, the name and character of God has been dragged through the mud. Those who are most vocal about representing God, portray a punitive, miserly, and hateful god who fears truth, a god of anger, control, and political power. Yet the God revealed by Christ, the one that I've spent my life pursuing, is nothing like what the noisemakers portray. Yet, standing on the street corner to oppose them, only seems to add to the noise and bring God down to the level of a political argument.

So, each photo I make, each book I write, each action I take to support the vulnerable, and bring healing into our world is an attempt to reveal the God who is goodness itself, who calls us into his beauty. Though I refuse to stand on the street corner and add to the noise, please hear my deeper, quiet voice proclaiming that the God of the street corner is a lie.

The One who stands behind all things is not opposed to scientific knowledge. Those who pursue understanding discover the hidden language of God. Those who shun war and pursue alternatives are the children of God. Those who concern themselves with the wellbeing of the natural world, with the poor, the disadvantaged, the outcast, the ill are doing the work of God. The quiet, the humble, the listeners are those who are most likely to see clearly.

Our world is upside down and at its root is an ugly and twisted idea of God that most certainly should be rejected. Blessed are the atheists who have seen through the false god. Blessed are those the Church has rejected for they are loved by God. Blessed are those who don’t have all the answers for they will perceive truth.

The real God, Love itself, lies behind all things. God does not fit in our boxes, does not bow to our logic games, or dance to our rules. God stands outside time, space, and our understanding, yet we all feel the pull towards goodness, beauty, and self-giving love, for they are the underlying law of the cosmos. They reflect the One who unbelievably seeks relationship with each of us.