It began with a question about Satan. But actually it was always something else.
Freedom
I believe in a God who wants real freedom. Not a simulation — but freedom built into creation itself, even when we use it against him.
For me, Satan is proof that this is meant seriously. Whoever can fall is truly free.
Imago Dei
Created in his image. That is not a goal — it is the starting point.
And yet: God did not finish building — he ignited. Evolution is his tool. A process that produces beauty and cancer. The eagle and the tumour. The child with cancer.
That is not a refutation of God. It is the open wound of creation — and the most honest question one can ask.
I have no answer to it. I hold the question.
And yet I strive toward him. Not because I am lost, but because there is more. This restlessness is my compass.
Weakness
I need him. Without him I am weak. That is not a defeat — it is simply true.
God Is Love
God is the original source of love. Not a God who also loves — but love itself, from which everything else is derived.
1 Corinthians 13 describes what this love looks like: patient, not resentful, without self-interest. Without it, everything is nothing.
For me, God also suffers, because he loves. Love is risk, not control.
“Love without joy, love without sternness — is nothing.”
Love is dual. It has fire and form. Ecstasy and measure. God himself is both — the rejoicing father and the one who sets limits. A love that only warms, without ever demanding, is not love — it is indulgence. A love that only demands, without ever rejoicing, is not love — it is law. Only together do both become the original source.
Suffering, Sensitivity, Humility
My suffering has made me more permeable. But only under one condition:
Suffering sharpens sensitivity — but only when healing transforms it and humility carries it.
8 Billion Images of God
God has expressed himself 8 billion times. That is enough for me.
By René Jochum and Claude (Anthropic). License: CC-BY-4.0.