Who Is God To You?
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. -- 2 Corinthians 4:18
Do you believe in God? Crazy question, isn’t it? Of course you believe in God. Overwhelmingly people in the United States believe in God.
So who is God? Do you really know Him or do you have some vague notion of a “higher power”? When you stop and imagine God, who do you see?
Pastor Rob recently quoted a poll that found 96 percent of all Americans believe in God. I was surprised because of the heated debate that goes on about God and where, or if, He belongs in our classrooms and government buildings.
Maybe the real question should be to describe who God is to you. The myriad of answers would probably be too great to formulate any kind of poll results. Because who we think God is frequently depends on our own relationship with our earthly father.
Instead of God remaking us in His image, we end up remaking Him in our own image, Pastor Rob said. We tend to put the characteristics of our earthly fathers onto our Heavenly Father. That might work okay if we had a perfect earthly father. Except the only perfect father is the One in Heaven.
That’s especially true for those who suffered physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse from their earthly fathers. Or the ones who watched their fathers get drunk or high day after day. Or the ones with workaholic fathers who never had time for them. Or the ones only concerned about themselves and their own pride. I could go on and on.
We unfairly put those characteristics on God and decide we don’t want any part of Him. Oh, we know He exists. We just don’t like Him -- because we don’t know Him.
Do you want to know what God is really like? Look at Jesus and how He lived His life on this earth. Because Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God, Pastor Rob explained.
And who is Jesus? Love comes immediately to mind. Jesus loves us. He cares for us. He comforts and strengthens us. He laughs with us. He always has time for us. Jesus died for us so that we could be reunited with God and have eternal life with Him.
We know God exists. We’re just not sure He loves us -- really and truly loves us -- so we want to keep Him at a distance. But when we look at Jesus, when we see Him beckon the little children to come closer, when we watch His kindness and compassion in dealing with prostitutes and tax collectors, then it becomes easier to stumble forward and fall to the ground before Him.
God loves you. Really and truly. He loves you. He wants to know you and build a relationship with you. What are you waiting for? He’s right there. Reach out to Him and embrace the unconditional, unfailing love of your Heavenly Father.
