Reimagining the Divine Presence in the World

In the tapestry of human thought and spiritual yearning, the concept of God has woven itself through countless generations, cultures, and creeds. Across centuries, God has been named, shaped, praised, and pondered—sometimes as a mighty king, sometimes as a gentle parent, often as a mysterious force beyond all comprehension. But among these myriad interpretations, a compelling idea persists and even flourishes—one that invites both the heart and mind to stretch beyond anthropomorphic boundaries: God is not a person; God is Life itself.

Moving Beyond Personification

The Limitation of Imagery

Human language, by its very nature, is tethered to imagery. When we attempt to articulate the ineffable, we reach for what is familiar—faces, voices, hands, and hearts. It is natural, then, for cultures to have portrayed God as a being with emotions, intentions, and even physical form. From the outstretched finger of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” to the bearded sages of ancient myth, we have cast the divine in our own likeness, perhaps in hope of intimacy or understanding.

Yet, as our collective consciousness matures, so too does our conception of the divine. Many spiritual seekers and philosophers are drawn to the idea that God is not a person—not a distant ruler or a cosmic judge, but the very pulse of existence that animates all things. In this view, divinity is not “out there” but “in here”—not separate from the world, but woven through every leaf, breeze, heartbeat, and breath.

God as Life: An All-Encompassing Presence

The Vital Force in All Things

What does it mean to say that God is Life? It is to recognize the sacred not as an external entity but as the dynamic, creative energy that surges through all living beings. It is the unfathomable intelligence that orchestrates the blossoming of flowers, the migration of birds, the spinning of planets, and the quiet unfolding of consciousness in the human mind. When we look at a river carving its way through rock, or a seed splitting open beneath the soil, we are witnessing the same essential force—the mystery of being that some choose to name “God.”

Panentheism and the Living Divine

Many philosophies and faiths have glimpsed this vision. In panentheism, for example, God is understood as both immanent—present within the world—and transcendent—beyond all form and name. In Eastern traditions, Brahman is not a deity with a face but the boundless reality underlying all existence. The Tao Te Ching proclaims: “The Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao,” pointing to a truth that lives in the world but cannot be grasped as an object.

When we affirm that God is Life, we are also invited to see the sacred in every moment. The divinity we seek is not located in a distant heaven, but in the inhale and exhale of each breath, the warmth of the sun on our skin, the laughter between friends, the gentle unfolding of a rose. To perceive God as Life is to awaken to the miracle of being itself.

Implications for Spiritual Practice

Sanctity of the Ordinary

If God is not a person but Life itself, then every living thing becomes worthy of reverence. Spiritual practices shift from the worship of a distant deity to the cultivation of presence, gratitude, and awe in everyday existence. Meditation becomes an act of aligning with the flow of life; service and kindness become ways of honoring the divine spark in all beings.

Responsibility and Interconnectedness

This perspective also carries ethical weight. If God is the living web of existence, then to harm life is to harm the sacred. Our choices—what we eat, how we treat others, how we care for the earth—become reflections of our relationship with the divine. Compassion, stewardship, and humility arise naturally when we see ourselves not as separate from, but as participants in, the great dance of Life.

The End of Separation

No More “Us and Them”

A person-like God can create division: believers and non-believers, chosen and forsaken, saved and lost. But when God is Life, these walls dissolve. All are included, all belong, for all are expressions of the same living Source. There is no outside to Life.

Mystery and Wonder

To see God as Life is not to reduce the sacred to a formula or mechanism. On the contrary, it opens us to the profound mystery that pulses at the center of all things. It is an invitation to wonder, humility, and reverence—a call to see the world not as a collection of objects, but as a radiant manifestation of the divine.

Voices from Around the World

This vision of God as Life is not new, though it often lies beneath the surface of religious tradition. Indigenous cultures around the globe have long honored the living earth, rivers, and skies as sacred. Poets and mystics, from Rumi to Walt Whitman, have sung of an animating presence that pervades all things. Even in science, we find echoes of this mystery—the intricate order of nature, the emergence of consciousness, the unity of the cosmos.

Modern Echoes

Contemporary thinkers, too, are drawn to this horizon. Environmentalists invoke the “Gaia hypothesis,” imagining the earth as a living organism. Neuroscientists marvel at the emergence of mind from matter. Spiritual teachers invite us to drop our ideas and simply be—present to the living, breathing moment.

Living the Vision

Everyday Spirituality

How would our lives change if we truly saw God as Life? Perhaps we would walk more slowly, listen more deeply, and love more fiercely. Perhaps we would sense the miracle in the mundane—the sacredness of washing dishes, the blessing of a sunrise, the gift of friendship. Perhaps we would grieve less for what we lack, and marvel more at the fact that we are here at all—alive, aware, and capable of wonder.

Practices for a Living Faith

• Mindful Awareness: Bringing full attention to the present moment, recognizing the pulse of life within and around us.
• Gratitude: Cultivating thankfulness for the simple fact of being alive, for the air we breathe, the food we eat, the people we love.
• Compassion: Extending care and kindness to all living beings, knowing that each is a unique expression of the same Life.
• Stewardship: Honoring the earth as sacred, caring for its creatures and resources as part of the living whole.
• Creativity: Engaging in acts of creation—art, music, writing, gardening—as ways of celebrating the life force within us.

Conclusion: The Divine in Every Breath

To say “God is not a person, God is Life” is not to deny the reality of the sacred, but to reimagine it—expansive, inclusive, and ever-present. It is to recognize that divinity is not found in distant heavens or abstract doctrines, but in the living moment, in the wonder of existence itself. Whether we name it God, Spirit, Source, or simply Life, the invitation is the same: to awaken, to participate, and to celebrate the miracle of being alive.

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Norman R. Van Etten