Close Encounters of the God Kind

In 1977, Steven Speilberg came out with another classic film that captures the destiny that haunts all of us, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. More than just a boy meets alien movie, the story line follows Roy Neary, played by Richard Dreyfuss, who is captivated by a maddening pursuit of "he knows not what." Whether it's sculpting potatoes or building a garden in the living room, his inner drive changes his life and drives him to his destiny. He was haunted by a vision that he could not bring into focus. The clues were everywhere but he could not make sense of any of them. Could it be that each of us have been built with a "close encounters" heart driving us in a maddening way toward a God to understand and have relationship with? That drive does not always make sense and in my own organized intelligence I somehow try to outline the pathway to bring peace and comfort to my own soul. Yet the maddening chase after God does not always have all the answers on purpose. The mystery of the chase and the lack of total understanding of His presence and surmised absence has been designed by a Creator to force us to trust in Him and not our own earthy sense. It sometimes looks irrational to the world but to God he puts us right where He wants us - seeking and searching for "we know not what." It's ultimately a maddening chase to rest in His presence and trust in His guidance for our purpose and meaning.