A quick postscript to the previous note. I thought I had this ‘awareness’ discipline down. I think about God all the time as it is. But as I reflect on it, I have to confess that what I do is think about God most of the time. I’m solving theological puzzles, conjuring up models of the trinity, thinking about how the incarnation came about or frustrating over the nature of Scripture. All God’s business, right? God is on my mind constantly as an object of thought, as a conundrum, as a problem to resolve, a puzzle to piece together. And if that is what ‘awareness of God’ is, then that will compete with conscious awareness of other things. You can’t do that (think about God) and do everything else well. What awareness can be without competing with all else is awareness of God as a subject in the second person, as conversation partner, as speaking to me and as addressed by me. We can pray without ceasing and do everything else. We can’t theologize about God in the third-person and do very much of anything else well. Why? Because to dwell, even devotedly, upon God in the third-person is to remain alone, to perpetuate the myth of separation, to assume my life with God and my living in this world have to compete with each other, as if I can’t be with both.
(Picture here.)
