God Is An Invitation Not A Mandate

​In a recent interview, Reid Wiseman, commander of the 2026 Artemis II lunar flyby mission, said about his crew's return to Earth: "When I got back on the ship, I'm not really a religious person, but there was just no other avenue for me to explain anything or to experience anything, so I asked for the chaplain on the Navy ship to just come visit us for a minute. And when that man walked in - I'd never met him before in my life - I saw the cross on his collar, and I just broke down in tears."

One mistaken belief that believers in God can hold is that we must act as salespeople for God. And often that sales pitch can sound like a mandate to follow the believer's religion or theological framework.

When I walk out into a morning sunrise or look out over a mountain sunset, I wonder: who am I to believe God needs me to sell anything on his behalf?

Quite often, all God asks of me is to be prepared to answer questions that creation has invited God's created people to ask.
Sometimes our efforts to push people toward God stand in the way of their capacity to hear the invitation God has long been offering.

A chaplain did not barge into a room trying to convince Reid Wiseman what he should have seen, he showed up invited to listen and to add hope to what Wiseman saw.

Too often what we pressure people to see in God doesn't begin to compare to what God has already shown them.

God does not need us to believe in him.

God does not need us to convince others to do so.

But God does love inviting us all to do so.

Sadly it's often the believers who stand in the way of non-believers hearing the invitation.