When I talk to people about God, I don’t do the “Jesus is the Son of God” spiel or try to explain doctrine. Doctrinal issues are so technical that even Nicodemus, a teacher of the Law found them difficult to grasp. Paul, who did his best to explain them also intellectually confounded Peter.

God is inclusive and not exclusive. So if you say you’re seeking God, you don’t need to do so my way. As long as you are sincere, God will find you. He wants a real relationship with you and wants you to know him for yourself and not just what someone told you. I sometimes struggle to preach what I don’t know. For example, I’ve heard Jesus heals cancer but I have never personally experienced it nor do I know anyone who has. I can confidently say he heals malaria though and quite a few other ailments. He once woke me up in the middle of the night to bring to my notice, that he’d taken care of a nasty bout of malaria that I had. He’s also regulated my blood pressure and gotten me off a surgery table, minutes before an operation. So, yes, he heals but he doesn’t seem to heal all the time, at least in my experience.

What I know of God definitively, is that he’s kind. Wow! I’ve experienced his kindness and mercy on a very personal level. He delivered me when I was in confused darkness and told me he loved me. I believed him and was set free. And he’s never left me. I’ve enjoyed God’s largeness of heart and his understanding. He has comforted me when I was most inadequate. He speaks and talks and wants to have conversations. He gets “lonely” and wants to be prioritised. He gets angry and hides himself when taken for granted. I’ve dipped my mind in his intellect and brilliance many times. He has been my teacher and his inspiration fires up my creativity.

God is real to me. Prayer is a struggle and has always been, but reading God’s word is a delight. I like God’s thoughts. Church services weary me. I can only attend if I take a break for a few weeks. I don’t understand religion, conformity and the religious. And, I hate crowds. I don’t understand conversations that begin with “By the grace of God” or end with “It is well”. I get very angry, very quickly with people who speak in religious metaphors and so, I respect myself by staying away from them. God has never had a religious conversation with me. We discuss science and politics and business. Sometimes, I tell him about my love life too. We talk about music, culture and social media. I discuss my speaking engagements with him and ask what he’d like me to say. At night, I check in with him and wonder what’s important to him at the moment. I ask what he really wants to do in church or with the projects I’m involved in. Many times I’m too tired to speak and I ask him to do the talking for a while as I read the Bible. Sometimes he speaks, sometimes he doesn’t but it’s okay. We have an entire life ahead of us.

God wants to be real to everyone. He wants to speak to everyone who lets him in. Someone once told me that the best way to build a relationship with God is to build a relationship. Just start. Check in consistently, have conversations, listen to his thoughts or read them. If you set aside a specific time to meet with God daily, he takes note and one day he will be there waiting for you.