God, Rid Me of God

“The apostles said to the Lord, “increase our faith.” Luke 17:5

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18

Matt Laney senior pastor of Virginia Highland Church UCC in Atlanta, Georgia wrote an interesting devotional called “God, rid me of God.” It interested me that a pastor would pray to God to rid him of God.

Matt explained that a 13th-century Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart, often prayed that prayer.

He wanted to rid himself of limiting ideas, images, and concepts about God. Eckhart wanted to rid himself of anything that restrained him from understanding divine reality and to outgrow wherever he happened to be on the path of righteousness.

I learned new concepts from Matt’s writing and His devotional gave me a fresh new way of thinking about our walk and growth with God.

Matt talks about parishioners who come to him and announce they have lost their faith. Matt says, “That is great, ” for he says that they have outgrown one “theological clothing” and are ready for another. He uses the analogy of a snake that outgrows his skin and sheds it.

Matt writes about letting go of one concept of God to grow into a new concept of God.