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Long ago, in the time before time, God was alone. It was not the nature of God to be alone, so God began to think. And as God thought, his thoughts became love and began to race across the void. His thoughts exploded across the emptiness and began to take the form of stars, galaxies, planets, suns and moons, and solar systems. God thought even more, and his thoughts became deeper and closer to his heart, and there came the earth and living things. And God loved it.

But God still felt alone. Suddenly God had a brilliant thought greater than all his other thoughts. Thus, in a great burst of love, God created human beings, male and female. God created them so that they could love him. It seemed so simple, so perfect. When God saw what he had done, a tear of joy came to his eye. God was no longer alone.

So perfect was God's creation, it was a shade of himself. He created people to be like him, so that they would think and create acts of love and caring. And God let them do that, and he stood back to watch. God was proud of what he had thought.

But there was a cost to be paid if love was to be perfect. And one day it happened. Although they did not say it in so many words, the humans God created and loved made it clear that they didn't love and need God anymore. God was concerned, but not terribly alarmed. God watched as his people tried to be like him. They really thought that they could be god themselves. God was no longer happy, and began to feel alone.

God watched as the people thought and acted like him. Sometimes the thoughts would create love and caring, but, more often than not, the thoughts would create the opposite - greed, hatred, envy, jealousy, gluttony and waste. God watched as humanity's thoughts created not love, but war, pollution, injustice and a lot of death.

As God watched, he felt pain and loneliness. At times, God would become very angry because his creation would not love him. God became frustrated that something so simple and perfect had become such a mess. God felt alone, but it was not the nature of God to be alone, so God began to think.

God thought, if only he were human, he could sit down and talk to his people. If only he could meet them face to face, they would understand, and their thoughts would again create love, peace, and harmony, which were the very heart of God. But, God thought, I must go all the way. I must be one of them; be born, feel like they feel, join them in their pain and show them a better way.

So, God thought, and his thought became love, and he was born a human being. God was God, but also human. It was confusing, but if love was to be perfect, a price must be paid. There was much of his creation that was very good. Many times, God did not feel alone. He had friends who loved him, who traveled with him and listened to him. But some were offended by him. Some were shocked. Some were amazed, and some were angry. "You can't be God," they said. "Only God can do the things you do, like forgiving sins and freeing people to love and care." The idea was too dangerous, so they decided that it would be best if God died. God experienced pain and rejection and death. God was alone. But it was not God's nature to be alone, so God began to think, and his thoughts turned to love. His love swallowed up the death that surrounded him, and God, who was life itself, began to live.

There was no longer anything that could separate God from his people. A bridge of love now linked them. Those who saw God as a human being after he became alive loved him. God no longer felt alone. And to make sure no one would forget that God was God, he gave a bit of himself to each one who loved him. Every time the story of God and his love was shared among them, that piece of God would grow. As it grew, people began to think like God. As they thought, their thoughts turned to love and caring.

Therefore, God looked down at his creation and rejoiced that many loved him. His thoughts turned to love, and that love, his Spirit, rested upon his people. Wherever his people went, with God's Spirit upon them, their thoughts would turn to love and caring.

So, as people shared their love for God, the Spirit brought the very precious essence of God himself. The people began to call that essence faith. As faith grew, more people said, "I believe in God," and "I love God," and their thoughts became loving and caring. As these people told the story of God's love to others who didn't understand, the Spirit brought them faith, God's love in action. And God smiled and was happy, because God was not alone.

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Author's Note:

Rolf Morck, the author of this story, is pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, near Wausau, Wisconsin.