Getting Comfortable with a God Who is Not Like You
It’s a common problem.
Someone is reading the Bible or talking about God with another believer and they stumble across a truth about God that they don’t like or agree with. The person could be offended by God’s character or His standard or simply the fact that He is a He. They could be offended by how He acts in Scripture or something they perceive He has done in their lives.
The problem is we as humans begin to build idols around these offenses. These aren’t idols of wood and stone like the pagans used to worship. Instead, these idols are thoughts and opinions about God that fly in the face of what the Scripture teaches. When we encounter a facet of God that we don’t like, our natural, human response is to recreate God into someone who is more like us. And this–this God who is like us instead of who He really is–is a problem.
Let me give you one example: Romans 11:22 says this, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God…” For one person, the idea of a kind God is difficult. They see God as a hard man, punishing sin and don’t understand His kindness. Their temptation is speak of God as only just and never merciful. Another person loves God’s kindness and how He is better than we can ever imagine, yet they struggle with God’s severity. How could God be kind and severe, they wonder? So they only teach on God’s kindness, leaving out any mention of His righteous judgment against what is wrong. The problem is both of these very different people begin to build God into their own image instead of letting Scripture shape their understanding of who God is.
‘There’s lots to be said about how to truly understand God as He really is. But we can start here: God is different than us and we must get comfortable with that. He has a different nature than us. He sees things differently than we do. We are not His equal to judge Him. Nor is He a mix tape where we can pick the parts we like best and place them next to each other and chose that as our God. We take God as He is, not as we want Him to be.
Once we settle the argument in our hearts that God is different than we’d like Him to be, we can begin to see who He really is. There will still be tremendous questions that remain to be answered, some of which will never be fully understood because He’s God. This is what we signed up for–to draw close to God.
We just have to get comfortable with a God who is not like us.
[Editor’s Note: If the thought of understanding the nature of God is interesting to you, I wrote a 22 Day series based on A.W. Tozer’s book “The Knowledge of the Holy.” You can read the and follow along in the book series here.]
What I Am Celebrating Today
Today is Father’s Day.
So yes, I’m celebrating my Dad.
And, to a lesser extent, I’m celebrating being a dad myself.
And, if you wanted to get spiritual about it, I’m celebrating God’s Fatherhood in my own life, which has had more impact than many people realize.
But today also happens to be my wife’s birthday. While I’m sure that you all have or are exceptional wives, I’m particularly fond of mine.
First, my wife loves Jesus. She has a devotion that points others to Him. It’s very rare that someone has to encourage my wife to seek the Lord. She loves Him for Him and it’s so rare.
Second, my wife is a gift to the body of Christ. She models what a godly woman is: She loves her husband. She raises children. She makes disciples. My wife is beautiful, but in a world caught up in materialism and perceptions, she has continually focused on beautifying her heart in a way that I’ve rarely seen women do (See 1 Peter 3:3-5).
Finally, I’ll say this: I have a particular type of all-in-ness that requires me to be all in or all out with just about everything I do. It’s an intensity that’s hard for others to live with and hard to understand. But my wife, over a number of years, has continued to stick with me, love me, and encourage me when my intensity causes me to want to quit. I could never do what I do without her.
So for all of the reasons, I’m celebrating my wife today.
Now, it’s time to celebrate. Happy Father’s Day to you dads out there!
Photo Credit: Boxed Chocolates by Helene Titsch
What Only God Can Do
Often in pursuit of a more missional, incarnational lifestyle we spend a lot of time serving people. We feed the poor, help where help is needed, and act as family for people who are not yet part of God’s family. Our hope is that in doing these things, people see the love of Jesus, hear the Gospel, and turn to Christ. This is good and part of God’s plan to draw people to Himself.
Let’s not forget, though, that Buddhists and atheists feed the poor, help where help is needed, and even act as family to those who aren’t part of God’s family. While these are all things God’s word instructs us to do, they are also things humans can do.
Without stopping doing these things, we should also begin to seek to do the things only God can do. We can listen to the Holy Spirit while we are serving people and see what He is saying. Then say it. One word from the Holy Spirit will unlock someone’s heart. If we’re serving someone and find out they are hurting or sick, we should pray for them, right then and there. God can and does heal and healing is a sign that the Kingdom of God has drawn close to people who are far away from God.
So don’t stop being servants or feeding the poor, but in all your doing, make room for God to do the things only God can do. Let’s introduce people to a God who can do more than just what nice humans can do. Let’s show them Christ who can do what only God can do.
Photo Credit: Miracle Growth by ⋯ L I Z ⋯
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 