You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing?
The Monster from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Volume 2, Chapter 2.
Dear God, my wife and I have been reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to each other for the last couple of weeks, and I came across this sentence as she was reading last night. The thought just fell on me while I listened to her: What would it be like if my God—my Creator—abhorred me? How lonely would that feel? Would there be any hope in my life? In my existence?
There are many children who never feel loved or liked by their parents. Some even feel hated and abhorred. And those wounds cut deep. They leave tremendous scars. But that seems less significant than what the monster is communicating to Victor Frankenstein here. He is lost in a confusing world, and his Creator abhors him.
It made me grateful for your irrational love for me. You have been gentle with me. You have allowed me to go into valleys of my own making and walked with me through valleys that were not of my own making. You have inspired me. You have imparted your vision to me. You have said yes to some of my prayers and no to others. But one thing you never did. You never ignored me. Instead, you come looking for me when I’m lost.
That’s one thing that struck me as we read the story up to this point—after Victor created the creature he didn’t follow up. The monster disappeared and Victor did not follow. He was too self-absorbed to follow. That’s one of the weird things about you, God. You aren’t self-absorbed or narcissistic, and you have a right to be. In fact, you want us to worship you, but the odd twist is that it ends up being for our good. The more we decrease and you increase in our own eyes the happier we become. It’s an incredible paradox.
What if Satan were my creator? What if he ruled heaven? What if selfishness and narcissism ruled the day. What if my creator abhorred me and lived for my torment and destruction just for his amusement?
Father, help me to remember at every moment to offer my neighbors your love. Help me to remind them that you are a lover of their soul. Help me to explain the peace, love, joy, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, goodness, and kindness that are waiting for them if only they will turn loose of themselves, believe, and follow you. And help me to be a spokesperson for the idea of not just believing in you but following you. Following you, after all, is what you called even the first of your disciples to do.
In Jesus’s name I pray,
Amen
Emails to God 