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Oh, God in 2004

    I just finished watching the 1970’s movie “Oh, God.”  You know…the one starring John Denver and of course George Burns, who plays the part of God.  In the movie, Denver is a supermarket manager, not at all a religious person, but he is precisely the one God (George Burns) picks to reveal His truth to.  God tells Denver to spread the word and everything else goes about like you would expect if someone in 2004 said that God had spoken to them as a taxi cab driver or a bus boy.  In other words, nobody believes Him, most of all the religious community.

    Now I do not personally agree with everything in the movie, but I do believe some pretty profound things are said and for the most part, I like the movie.  One of my favorite scenes is at the end in a courtroom.  Denver is being sued by an evangelist he called a fake.  “Stop getting rich off my truth.”  This was a message God had sent to the Rev. Willie Williams through Denver .

    When it looks as if Denver is about to go down the tubes, God appears in the courtroom and does some pretty convincing miracles to prove His existence.  But what I remember most is what God says just before He exits the courtroom.  “If you’re having trouble believing in me, maybe it will help you to know that I believe in you.”

    Through the years I thought a lot about that statement…used it in a lot of talks.  God does believe in us…He loves us.  He loves us so much He sent His Son to die for us.  Such love has to show us He believes we can make this world work.  We can make the right decisions.  We can serve our fellow man.  God created us in His image and through Christ we can reflect His image to the world.

    God waits for us.  He is there for us.  His love is unconditional.  And in the end, it is not our faith that makes the difference in our lives.  It is His faith in us.  May God live His truth through us and may His faith in us strengthen us to be His person in this world. 

In Christ,

Billy

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