I'm about to do something super taboo in the "religious" world. I am about to compare God with Albus Dumbledore. If you are unaware who that is, he is the Headmaster at Hogwart's University in the Harry Potter books and movies. I can hear it now: "GASP! How could you compare God to a character who is a wizard that practices witchcraft?!" Well, here's how.
Back in Jesus' day, He was very disturbed by the Pharisees. They were a group of religious people that knew the scriptures up one side and down the other.But they knew it so well that they had all of these ideas about how things were going to happen: what Jesus would look like, how the prophecies would all go down,etc. In essence, they "humanized" the Gospel and made it make sense to them in their own minds. They must've missed the part of scripture where God says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways."
I feel we have the same problem today. People like to think God can only be found in a church, doing church things or reading your bible. Yes, God can be found there, but is by no means limited to those confinements. I like to believe that God is joyful when we can find Him in other things we enjoy throughout life. The bottom line is that some people will never step inside a church. Others will never pick up a bible. Still others will never allow you to entertain a conversation about God, religion, or anything of the sort. So, to you dear religious one, my question is this...is God not able to reach that person through any other means? God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.....and Harry Potter movies.
I must confess. I watch the Harry Potter movies almost every night. Now, they are 3 hours long so it may take me three nights to finish one movie, but it's worth it. I've become very in tune with some similarities between who I think God to be, and the person of Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore has one goal in mind: to protect Harry. Harry Potter was saved from death by his mother's sacrifice of love. She gave her life to save his. Dumbledore took Harry from birth and made sure he was put in a place where he'd be taken care of. Throughout the years at Hogwarts University, where Harry learned how to use magic in a good way, he was watched. Dumbledore was always watching. Harry found himself in many situations where he had to fight monstrous creatures and even Voldemort (the Dark Lord) himself. Dumbledore always sent help to him. And if sending help wasn't enough, there were times he would show up, cast Harry aside, and fight the battle for him.
The thing I love most about Dumbledore is his "presence." He let Harry live his life, make his mistakes, and get hurt. But in the end, Harry always learned something. He loved and cared for Harry...from a distance. But, when it came down to the battles between Harry and the Dark Lord, Dumbledore made his presence known.
What a picture of our God. He never sleeps. He's always watching over us, preparing us, teaching us. He may seem far away at times. You may question why He's not answering at the perfect moment, but remember, He's there...and when the time is needed, He will make His presence known. And if the battle is too intense, He will cast you aside and take the reigns.
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