"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction." Blaise Pascal
"Sinners and saints, priests and kings
Are we just using God for our own gain
What’s in a name
Open your eyes" Karin Bergquist
It's interesting how often I find myself not believing in the god that is so often spoken of in the world today. The way he is presented and spoke of makes Him look, sound, and act very closely to that which we see in alienated humanity. Sometimes even worse. What I thought I knew and what I had lived much of my life believing about the person Jesus referred to as father has been taken a part. It feels really good today.
We are more loved than we can even begin to fathom. Why do so many live with such fear of the one that chose to step into the mess we have made through our freedom of choice, to speak such wonderful words like "Don't be afraid?" If God is love and that love is unconditional, patient, and kind, why have we made him out to be a highly unpredictable character who more closely resembles earthly fathers...and mothers?
The character Jesus describes as the father in the parable of the prodigal son just doesn't seem to me to fit into the image so often presented by the world's religions. Jesus used several other familiar images to paint other pictures for us that seem to be as different also.
If Love is patient, and love is kind. If it does not envy or boast, and it is not proud. If it is not rude, self-seeking, easily angered, and if it keeps no record of wrongs. And if Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth and it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres, why do we make God something other than this?
I know we humans struggle with loving this way, but for goodness gracious let us stop speaking of and thinking of our father in ways that presents him to the world as someone he is not.
HE LOVES US and if he did so even in our state of alienation before Jesus' death and resurrection that changed everything....how much more so is his grace and love poured out and extended to us all? I know better of my father than how I hear him so often spoken about today and I am learning to live in that love and I am finding there is no room for fear in this place. Prefect love casts out all fear.
Thank you father.
7 comments:
Amen! Good stuff!
What has been the millstone for me in the past is God as represented in the Old Testament. I used to think, "Yeah, okay, well look at Jesus. He's amazing. I can feel his presence right here and I could just fall right into him and never come out again. But ..."
And the buts were all those Old Testament things. Which ended up creating the good cop bad cop dichotomy. I think we need to do a whole stack of talking about all of this as the Body. I think the bad roots of this go down deep. Many of us have realised that he is a God we can trust hallelujah and are walking in that freedom (it feels spongy underfoot :) but I think as a Body it will do us good to tackle this.
Thanks for this uplifting and edifying post, Kentster :)
Sue,
I think you're right, we do need to unpack this OT box and discuss it. There's a lot stuffed into it!
Ken, so true!
kent - excellent post. i am with sue, my conception of god was tainted by some of what i saw in the pre-resurrection-inspired-writings and also by what i saw in john's revelation. i thought i saw in john's revelation that god was only going to be gracious for a season and then god was going to be pissed at those who rejected the grace and whack those suckers.
much to process indeed.
blessings,
rob
Sue and Rob,
I'm just curious....what do you think the difference is between the OT and NT? I have some ideas, but what are you tossing around in your head??
K,
Lovely post for a sunday mate....yeah, dysfunctional relationships with other people close to us, especially earthly fathers does something strange to a person....not to mention projecting our likeness onto God.
It was also attributed to Pascal (as well as a bunch of other believers) as writing, "God made man in his own image and man thought it'd be a good idea to return the compliment."
Anyway, a huge part of the rub is in your quote: "If Love is patient, and love is kind. If it does not envy or boast, and it is not proud. If it is not rude, self-seeking, easily angered, and if it keeps no record of wrongs. And if Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth and it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres, why do we make God something other than this?
Amen...this is a strong sounding, unshakeble, non-fickle sounding love to me and I could use to fill up on this every moment of every day...even so Lord, come.
peace,
T
thanks to all of you for adding to this. Father has just been walking me me through some worderful untangling of these mixed up notions about love and fear.
If fear is spoken of as the BEGINNING of wisdom and then it is said that PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR......it seems pretty clear to me that fear is not a part of a real-ationship with God.
Hey Kent and all
Yeah that was very, um, good !
What others "see" "live" and reveal is not always a reflection much like who He truly is and what His heart is. YOu don't even have to say much, all you have to do is listen, listen, and out of the mouth comes the treasure. It's particularily didstressful to see those looking for LIfe out of the broken pieces of their lives and end up being battered by religion. They become more wounded, and you are on the sidelines of it all ... It's good to know we can not only see this false reflection in others, but we can reflect him in the way He wants , whenever and to whomever. It's all about Him and the life he came to give, that we would have life and have it more abundantly.
(glad i stopped by today ... such a good post eh!)
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