Sorry, but God is not even rocket recliner
Recliners are great. They're big and soft and often in front of a television. They recline (It's true! That's what the handle is for!). They're perfect for either sitting or for taking power naps. I can't stress this enough: recliners are great. However, God is not recliner. Recliners are very self-serving. They're fine for your needs, sure, but have you ever tried to squeeze two or more people in a recliner? Of course you have. And it didn't work too well, did it?
Enter the couch.
Fact: this couch is cooler than yours
The couch is great as well, for many of the same reasons. Plus, the couch is able to fit three, sometimes even four people within its friendly confines. You can watch TV on a couch or take power or even full naps on a couch. Couches are bed-sized too, which is perfect for poor college students who need a place to stay. Some couches even turn into beds! Technology these days...
I could easily say that God is couch and be content with that conclusion. But I'm not here to tell you that God is couch, because I firmly believe that God is Loveseat.
God. Do not look at for too long.
What is Loveseat? (Baby don't hurt me!) A loveseat is like a miniature couch made for two people. If a recliner and a couch got together and had a lovechild, this would be it. To the best of my knowledge, this is how it got the name "loveseat" (couches don't have a "child," they have a "seat"). Growing up as a kid (as most do), I always associated a weird, awkward stigma with the loveseat, as if you had to be in love with whoever you sat in it with. Even up through junior high, if I was at a friend's house watching movies or something, I felt very self-conscious and awkward if I ended up sharing a loveseat with a girl (!). Looking back, though, I don't blame myself! Loveseats are a very personal and intimate piece of furniture. By sharing a cushion with just one other person, you're forming an invisible bond with them. Loveseats demand conversation! The only thing more awkward than sharing a loveseat would be to not acknowledge the person with whom you are sharing it. And once you start that conversation, you can't just both stare straight ahead; you've got to kind of twist to face the person, who is right there, next to you. No armrest between you, no other people to distract your attention. Less than a foot apart. The loveseat is where life gets real!
So can you see where I'm going with this? The love of God that we find in the bible, the love that Jesus and so many of His followers talk about is just like a loveseat. When Jesus calls on us to love one another, He isn't talking about Recliner Love. He doesn't want us to sit afar on our plushy thrones and love others from a distance. And he isn't quite talking about couch love, where you can love as a group, rather than individually, like how a group of people can love a football team together. Instead, God is Loveseat. God demands conversation. God wants us to have personal real relationships with other people. The love that Jesus taught isn't afraid to cut through the awkwardness and get close to those who need love the most. No distractions, no excuses, just real bonds being formed by real people, one on one, whether you're completely comfortable with it or not. I think you'll find that in loveseats and in life, things become a lot less awkward once you start that conversation.
So may you cut through your apprehension and begin to love those people who have been sitting next to you your whole life. God is Loveseat.
Discussion Questions
1. Where do you find yourself sitting most often (literally and figuratively)?
2. If you had a rocket recliner, what would you name it?
1. I have a particular spot on the couch that is my spot. Jess knows never to sit in it when I am there with her because that is my spot. When other people come over and someone sits in it, I feel a great sense of angst at the fact that I cannot sit there. For serious, it really bugs me, and I have to take some time to cool down. I realized the other day, though, that this is pretty similar to people who have their own pew that they have to sit in every Sunday--something that really saddens me. So now, I think I will try to be better about sitting in other places and not feeling so anxious about my spot.
ReplyDelete2. Sasha.
Great post. I love the idea that God's love--and our emulation of God's love--is about intimacy and true connection. So does this mean you see the need to keep teaching the need for a personal relationship with God?
1. In my house, I usually end up in one of the two recliners, and when those are already taken, I go with the couch, but it's not quite the same. In my dorm...i'm usually the one in the bean bag on the floor. in class, i'm not gonna lie, i go for the center front. I like to be engaged and have a relationships with the professor, and I get too easily distracted in the back.
ReplyDeleteWhere do i sit in a group of people--if it's small enough and i know everyone, i feel comfortable being at the center or right at the fringe of the conversation. but if i don't know the group well, i tend to become an observer.
where do i sit in my faith? sometimes too comfortably in the recliner. but it's the moments that i hop off the recliner and choose the love seat that i'm truly the most satisfied.
2)Rex
Sasha and Rex, both good.
ReplyDeleteWes, to answer your question, if by personal relationship with God you mean a personal investment in one's faith in God, then yes. In this case, I think making a deliberate effort to have meaningful relationships with God's people is a perfect way to do this. By loving and relating with God's children, you're loving and relating with the God who created them all.
btdubs, love seats are my favorite :). there should be more in this world.
ReplyDelete