Our image of God. We all have one. Today we will look at it, what it does, where it comes from and, of course, what we should do with it.
We all have one. From Billy Graham to Marilyn Manson, every single person on this planet thinks something about God. Could be that there is no God (the atheist position) or maybe there is…
Everyone has an image of God (or that there is no God) (see Rom 1:19) and it significantly impacts every life choice that we make.
Examples (a very small sample):
Atheist: Since there is no God, these people often fill the gap with a purpose. Could be good (helping the widow/orphan) or bad (self indulgence in the American dream). Typically people in this group can be as zealous as anyone, but the “why” behind it can widely vary (see discussion questions below on “where/when” our image of God came from).
Christian: God created everything; is perfect and I am not perfect. I have a tough time accepting grace because it doesn’t add up (not rational). I waver between peaceful acceptance and guilt from my own imperfection.
It’s pretty easy to see how our image of God impacts our life decisions big and small. Here’s a deep thought on this which we may explore another day: Did you know that you reflect your relationship with God to your relationships with others? Let’s go on this quick and substantial tangent… If you are in a place of peace and acceptance of God’s grace and others fail you, hurt you or let you down, you will respond with grace and forgiveness. To the degree that you judge/condemn yourself you will judge/condemn others. The linkage could not be more direct and when operating correctly we are building the kingdom (spreading God’s grace, truth, love, etc.) and when we judge/condemn we are not (nuff said). See also Rom 12:18.
So we all have an image of God, it has direct impact on all of our choices so it’s FRIGEN IMPORTANT!
So, let’s get into a few discussion questions:
Q1: What is your image of God? If God were to ring your doorbell and want to spend some time with you, what would it be like? Does He have a list of what you’ve done in the past week, month, years and he wants to review it with you OR is He overjoyed that He caught you at home and beamingly looking at you with the affectionate eyes of a proud creator? There’s a stark contrast between these two examples. Maybe it’s no surprise that He showed up at your door because you’ve been with Him all day? Take some time and think about your answer: What is your current image of God? How do you see Him? How does He see you?
Q2: When and where did you form your image of God? How does it or has it changed over the years? This is a good reflective introspective question. As the therapist asks, “tell me about your childhood” it can be very useful to study our past and what events and experiences lead us to believe and think the things we do and the way we do. Consider yourself an archaeologist and study the past, specifically your past. From the place you are now, are the lessons learned (subconsciously) the right lessons that you want to keep applying now (consciously or subconsciously)? Think about it.
Q3: How is your current image of God impacting your life choices? The big, the small, the conscious, the subconscious.
Moving on. Let’s spend a little time on correcting or re-calibrating our image of God. We did a little of that in Q2 above, but there’s more than just that. I see three main sources: 1. The Bible. 2. Community 3. From within.
1.The Bible is one of my main sources of truth. It says in Col 1:15 that He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God (pretty dang relevant to our topic today). Yeah, it can be hard to have an image of God especially when He’s invisible, omnipresent, etc. Fortunately we have a plethora of tangible images from Christ’s time on earth in human form (see Matthew, Mark, Luke & John). Check em out!
2. Community is another key source of truth and perspective for me. It’s hard to describe and quantify the value of thinking intentional people in my life. Sometimes I try to limit my friends and hear only what I want to hear. Fortunately, if I shut up long enough, my wild card friends can open my mind to things I would have never thought of. Most importantly, in the community area, is accountability and challenging each other to think it through and live intentionally by God’s values, not the world’s (Rom 12:2) in every area of life.
3. From within: We are created in God’s image (Gen 1:27) and he wants us to know Him (1 Tim 2:4). He’s planted the seed within us and from our desire (Rom 12:2) we can choose to water that seed (1 Cor 3:12-13). God has prepared things in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10) so let’s make sure we’re calibrated so that we can do those things (insert smile here).
HOW TO: How do we correct and re-calibrate our image of God? The answer is simple: Continually. We are sinners living in a sin filled world so we gotta keep correcting our course and keeping it on track (Psalm 23:3, James 1:27, 2 Tim 2:4-6).
So, in conclusion, my hope, key takeaways… We all have an image of God which significantly impacts our life choices so it’s important to get it right.
THANKS FOR READING!!!!
End note 1: A good friend once told me that he didn’t want to serve the God he created or the one that felt right. He was compelled to serve the true God (Jer 10:10) no matter what he looked like or what I thought of Him. (thankfully He is good (Ps. 34:8))
End note 2: The title of this is interesting “our image of God” because really, how silly is that? Who do we think we are?! The potter or the clay? Funny how we tend to get that reversed and put ourselves on the throne and judge God rather than seeing ourselves as we are, the created and affectionately loved by the creator.
