Good Morning Lord!

As a little boy I listened to Marcus Wren pray. Marcus was and still a leader in the church. To begin every prayer, he simply said, "Good Morning Lord!" or "Good Evening Lord!"

How do you greet God?

Greetings are such a way of life. Some folks we greet cordially. Some folks we greet with a kiss. Others we greet with a handshake or a hug. Some people we just do not know how to greet. And still others, we simply would rather not greet at all. We wait to be confronted.

Believe it or not, all of these apply to how some greet God. Some wait for God to confront them. God is seen as the "heavenly hound" dogging them all the way. God to others is a God that one would never want to cuddle up to or be near. God is the "critical parent" waiting to tell us how we have failed or waiting to punish. If either of these is your relationship with God, lent is a time to change that relationship.

What would it be like to be in an intimate relationship with a loving God? What would it be like for you to understand God loves you right now—not when you get better—but right now?

One of the hymns that I remember singing out of the Cokesbury hymnal was "In the Garden". The chorus of the song speaks of an intimate relationship with God. God walks with me. God talks with me. God tells me I belong to God. The relationship and the time together are described as joy. Can you imagine such a relationship?

Tex Sample is a retired professor theology. He tells the story of how at one point in his thought the theology of this song was simply too chummy. He thought the song reduced God to a level that made God less than God. It reduced the relationship to God as something owned by an individual. He would present his conclusions in a rather offensive manner. The logic he gave impressed him more than it should have.

After one of these presentations, a small woman found her way towards him. She patiently waited until her turn. She then told her story.

"When I was a little girl, my stepfather began abusing me sexually. This went on for years. After he left, I would go out in the large garden we planted behind the house. I would walk through the garden and I would sing this song. This song gave me the only sense of love and hope I would know for years. That chorus which you berated so brilliantly was the gate in which I knew God loved me—that anyone cared. It saved my life. So, Dr. Sample, (as she pointed her finger at him) do not let me ever hear you berated the relationship that this chorus gives as it is the hope of a loving relationship for many." And she walked away.

The little lady had become massive in size. Tex Sample said he never felt so small. Her intimate relationship with the living God trumped all the knowledge he could have gathered in life.

What would it be like to greet God, "Good Morning Lord!"?