Two like poles repulse one another. So do two “higher” intelligences.
Have you ever played with magnets? Put the opposite poles of two magnets together and they attract. Put the like poles of two magnets together and they repulse. Put them close enough together with freedom to act independent of all other influences and they spin around and lock together. The same principle applies in our relationship with God.
If we approach God with the side of us that sees mankind as the most intelligent, creative force in our universe, we are immediately repulsed by God, because we are in essence seeing ourselves as God and cannot allow Him to get close without affecting our self image. As much as God wants to draw close to us, the closer He gets, the stronger the force with which our egos push us away.
If, on the other hand, we approach God with the side of us that sees mankind as the created and God as the creator, we find ourselves attracted to God. Once we get close to Him, we are drawn into an eternal embrace.
I grew up attending a middle-of-the-road Protestant church. I never really felt comfortable there, but it was a place you could go and not feel particularly troubled by a lack of real faith. Many years later, after relocating to another part of the country, we were invited by our new neighbors to attend a fundamentalist church. The message was so direct that I literally felt assaulted by the gospel. Upon leaving, I said, “If you ever want to come back to this church again, it will be without me.” Like the magnet, I was immediately repulsed by getting this close to what they called “The Word of God.” But once in His presence, I found God interacted with my life in ways I couldn’t easily explain or attribute to chance. As with the magnet, once I got close enough to have my position challenged, I found myself drawn to the truths I found about human nature and God’s nature.
As in nature, it is not the force of resistance that is our natural state, but rather the path of least resistance that leads to the steady state of union. Have you gotten close enough to God to experience this, are you still feeling repulsed or not even close enough to feel the force?
“Has not my hand made all these things? You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!”
Acts 7:50-51
“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
Words of Jesus Christ in John 12:32
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.
Words of Jesus Christ in John 6:44
“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 18:3