What if God is one of us

I have always greatly enjoyed Joan Osborne's song  One of Us loved. The question "what if God were one of us?" has always been something to me where I thought "I think He knows all too well what that is, but do we?".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPFnHdJ0dl0

The lyrics of this song contain beautiful sentences that have made me think even more about certain aspects of life and belief since I was baptized as a Mormon.

What God is one of us? What if God were one of us?

For completeness, I reproduce the full text here:

If God had a name, what would it be?
And would you call it to His face?
If you were faced with Him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question?

And yeah, yeah God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make His way home?

If God had a face, what would it look like?
And would you want to see?
If seeing meant that you would have to believe
In things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints and all the prophets?

And yeah, yeah God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make His way home?

He’s trying to make His way home
Back up to Heaven all alone
Nobody calling on the phone
Except for the pope maybe in Rome

And yeah, yeah God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make His way home?

Just trying to make His way home
Like a holy rolling stone
Back up to Heaven all alone
Just trying to make His way home
Nobody calling on the phone
Except for the pope maybe in Rome

If seeing would mean that you have to believe?

Especially the sentence “And would you want to see? If seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints and all the prophets?” has always surprised me.

Really reflect on that. Would you truly want to see God? Because if you were to see Him, you could no longer deny that He truly exists. Then you would know in your deepest being that if you did not believe in Him, you would be condemned. Then you would immediately know that you have little choice but to follow all His laws.

That, of course, goes against the fact that we are here to learn, to make our own choices. Many people argue with me that  if there is a God, why don't we see more of Him? Well, actually, you have the answer in this song. Would you like to give up your freedom of choice? Would you let go of the chance to learn and grow from your own experience and become more like Him?

First believe, then see

I understand very well that He is very careful about showing Himself directly. It has only happened a few times, and usually it was the result of someone who had a pure faith, who had already decided for themselves with 100% certainty that He exists. As humans, we often say 'first see, then believe', but in this regard, it's the other way around: first believe, then see God.

That does not alter the fact that He can be seen in so many things. I absolutely believe in science and Darwinism, but I am a supporter of The Intelligent Design. For me, Heavenly Father is the architect, the contractor who set things in motion. The theory of evolution might explain in part  how, but gives little answer to  why. Plus, as a scientist, I love statistics, and in probability calculations, you arrive at such an incredible figure if our entire existence on this planet happened purely by chance. Survival of the fittest doesn't explain everything. But in combination with a great plan, I can accept it much better.

I maintain that it is normal that we must fully choose for ourselves whether we believe or not. It is the most fundamental choice we have to make. Amidst all problems, including problems caused by religion. Also amidst the science that even men sent by God were not always perfect and knowing that in all texts we possess, there are errors made by human hands.

Belief is the most fundamental choice

It is perhaps the most fundamental choice and certainly not the easiest. There are people who spend their entire lives studying the available material and still don't dare to give an answer.

But He has given us the right tools for this. Go in sincere prayer and ask Him for a quiet, calm confirmation in your heart of His existence. I sincerely believe in everyone's choice and I respect it. Whether you are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, agnostic or atheist: I respect your choice, but do you dare to accept my challenge that when you ask me if I can prove that all this is true, to go on your knees every evening for a week and pray with a sincere desire to know if He exists?

You certainly don't have to see Him to believe…