Where God Dwells Among Men
I went in search of the place
where God dwells among men
I searched in buildings of stone and brick and mortar
I searched among the well-spoken, well-polished
and finely attired
I had heard He could be found there on Sundays
I went in search of God
in gardens like where He was said to have once walked
with a man and woman ever so long ago
I searched among the beauty — the roses, the leaf-framed
and brilliant sky
I searched among the shadowy passages and cobbled walkways
of fragrant serenity
for I noticed that the smallest of creatures still find refuge there
I went in search of love
among those said to be alive with the Heartbeat of the One who hung upon a cross for me
I searched in hope that all around me would not remain gray, cold, thorn-filled
I searched desperately for I knew not where else I could search
if even these people offered no love to me
Where is that place
rumored, imitated, sought, so seldom found
where God dwells among men?
Is He in the churches
among the religious
bribed by half-hearted gestures
to confine Himself to stuffy buildings and small minds
for a couple hours a week?
Is He to be found walking in the cool of the evening
silent
searching amongst all the beauty He created for one like Him
a special breathed-upon creation
to share in it all?
Is He to be found when all the magic words are said?
But I did not find Him there
Where is that place
where God dwells among men?
I searched among your family, your friends, your church
I searched and I searched
and I am so weary
I went in search of the place
where God dwells among men
but then I began to wonder
is God searching, too
searching for a place, a heart after His, a temple of a different kind where He may dwell?
I went in search of God
in search of love
and at last found the One
for whom my soul longed
and I held Him fast and did not let Him go
Will He find you?
Or does He only find those who search for Him
and search for Him
and search for Him
and search for Him
until they have passed by all the others
until they find Him
until they will never let Him go?
"But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.
"For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him."
-Deuteronomy 4:29-35