God Is Not Who You Imagined
In this Sunday's gospel, we hear about Jesus sending another 70 disciples out on a mission. He sent them two at a time, warned them of the dangers, promised them that they would be rejected by some and welcomed by others, gave them power to heal the sick, and comfort the afflicted all while teaching people that God was very different to how they had previously imagined him to be. How do you imagine God to be? Even though the scriptures remind us over and over again that God's ways are not like our ways, we often cling to an image of God that is too human. The danger is to create God in our image.
Few things will impact our experience of life more than the image of God we hold in our hearts. The difficulty is we each have an incomplete and distorted image of God. The scriptures teach us that we were created in the image of God. But without authentic experiences of God, the danger is that we begin to create God in our image. Through the daily habit of prayer, reading the gospels and other spiritual practices, our image of God gradually becomes more aligned with the reality of who God is. What is your image of God? How do you envision God? Do you image God as a loving father, or as a wrathful father? Do you see Jesus as a teacher, brother, friend, savior? You envision the holy spirit as close and personal or distant and impersonal?
The first time I explored these questions, I was embarrassed at how little I was able to articulate. I challenged myself to sit down and write everything I knew about God. I was stunned at how little I knew. I challenged myself to make a list of all God's qualities and attributes. I was astonished at how few I could name. This reviewed that I didn't know God very well at all. We assume that we know God. We also assume that what we believe about God is true, often, it is not. The only thing worse than not knowing God is knowing and believing things about God that aren't true. These are worse than not knowing God at all because they often prevent us from really getting to know God.
Throughout our lives, we have been told things and have experiences that had distorted the image of God we hold in our hearts and minds. For example, if your father was neglectful or abusive, that has almost certainly impacted the way you see God. It will particularly affect your ability to see God as a loving and attentive father who is interested in everything that happens in your life.
Another example may be things you heard about God at school. You may have been told that God doesn't exist. Some teachers may have made fun of students who believed in God. All these experiences impact the image we hold of God in our hearts and in our minds. Sometimes we are aware of these influences, and sometimes we are not. It may take years or decades to realize how certain people and events have affected our image of God positively or [negatively?]. So what is God really like? God has many attributes. He's infinite, eternal, good, self-sufficient, ever-present, generous, holy, personal, gracious, loving, wise, mysterious, all-powerful, one, providential, righteous, just, transcendent, truthful, eternal, patient, free, immutable, approachable, peaceful, perfect, compassionate, beautiful, praiseworthy, faithful, all-knowing, graceful, merciful, attentive, fascinating, and deeply interested in everyone and everything he has created. There are so many attributes that could be used to describe God so it's important to remember what we are trying to accomplish. Our goal is not to gain a theological understanding of God though we are certainly not opposed to that. Our goal is to discover how you best connect with God. From time to time I like to ask myself what are three attributes that most help you connect with God? These are the three I pick today, loving, patient, and faithful. At other times in my life, I have chosen other attributes. I chose loving because love seems to be the essence of everything that God is and does. And I yearn for it to be the essence of who I am and all I do. But on a more basic human level, I yearn to love and be loved like anybody else. I chose patient because I know my faults, failings, and limitations and I need him and anyone I am in a relationship with to be patient with me as I fumble around trying to become a better version of myself. I chose faithful because I need to remind myself that our God keeps his promises. I find this to be a great reminder and comfort in times of trouble and uncertainty. What are the three attributes that most help you connect with God? Why does that matter? There are many reasons but let's begin with three that are intensely practical. The first reason is because the image you hold of God profoundly or disturbingly affects the image you hold of yourself. The scriptures tell us we are made in the image of God. So the way we see ourselves is going to be massively impacted by the way we see God. As a parent, I am fascinated with how my children see themselves. The image they hold of themselves holds astounding influence over almost everything they think, say, and do. That doesn't change no matter how old we become. If our image of God is distorted the image we hold of ourselves will also be distorted. The second reason it matters so much is because your image of God impacts every relationship in your life. We will never have better relationships with other people than our relationship with God. Our relationship with God serves as a model for our other relationships. The third reason is because nothing will impact your relationship with God more than how you imagine God to be. If you have a distorted image of God it becomes an obstacle to many of the most significant moments in the spiritual journey. Through our daily habit of prayer and other spiritual experiences and practices, our image of God gets adjusted. There is a difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing that person. God is love, we read in the scriptures. This is to know about God. God is loving. This is to experience God in a deeply personal way. Our knowledge about God often outstrips our experience of God. And these videos are a direct attempt to tip those scales. Through daily habit of prayer, we are seeking to experience the loving God who is love. By encountering God regularly our image of God will continually be realigned with the reality of God. The image we hold of God impacts everything. Not just our spirituality but everything. It isn't something we can sit down to discuss for an afternoon and straighten out. There are powerful, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and practical influences at work. It takes a lifetime of prayer, reflection, and observation to continually realign our image of God with the reality of who God is. How well do you know God? I've asked myself this question many times throughout my life and I keep arriving at the same answer, better than I did last year but not as well as I would like to know him. The implications of your personal image of God are endless. Ask God to reveal himself to you to realign how you perceive him with who he really is.
