Session 2 - What is Your Picture of God?

Let's begin with two quotes. The first one is from A.W. Tozer: "What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us. " Let me say that again. "What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

And here's the second quote from Dallas Willard: "The single most important thing about us is our idea of God and its associated images. The single most important thing about us is our idea of God and its associated images."

Now, you might not agree with Tozer and Willard that the picture we hold of God is the most important thing about us. You may be able to think of something else that is even more important. Even so, I want to invite you to ponder why it would be that both Tozer and Willard were convinced that the picture we hold of God is so incredibly important. Why do you think they were so passionate about this?

I think Tozer and Willard are so concerned about the picture we hold of God, because they know this: We become like the God we worship.

It has been said by someone way smarter than me that if you have a wrong idea of the God who is, then practicing the Christina Spiritual disciplines will make you worse not better!

If I believe that God not only loves, but is love, then the more I center my life on Him, the more loving I will become. If, however, I actually hold a picture of an angry God, I will gradually become an angrier person. If I worship a trustworthy God, I will have an easier time trusting God and other people, but if my one image is of an unreliable God, I will likely become increasingly anxious and controlling.

That's why the early 20th century Anglican priest William Temple once said,

"If we have a negative picture of God, the more religious we become, the worse it gets."

Huh, let me repeat that. "If we have a negative picture of God, the more religious we become, the worse it gets." William Temple knew that the picture we hold of God not only shapes us, it affects everything else, including and especially how we read the Bible, how we interpret and relate to suffering, and how we treat each other.

There is no area of our lives that is untouched by the picture we hold of God, even, and maybe especially, if that picture is largely unconscious, which leads me to the next thing I want to invite you to notice.

There is often, for many of us, a gap between our professed images of God, the things we say we believe about him, and our default images of God, the ideas we hold deep down, maybe even unaware, which are profoundly shaping us.

We might say God is loving, and faithful, and generous, and beautiful, but we need to pay attention to how we relate to God and conceive of Him when difficult circumstances arise. Our default pictures of God show up more in times of stress. When something bad happens, if your default picture is of a good and loving God, then your instinctive response might be something like, "This is hard, but thank You for being with me as I go through this," and maybe if you're feeling adventurous, you might even ask God, "What invitation might You have for me in this hard thing?"

But if your default, under the hood, unconscious picture of God is that He is harsh or unloving, then your instinctive response might be something more like,"Why are You doing this to me?" Or "I know I'm being punished."

Depending on how you were raised, and where you came to faith, and how you've been formed so far, there is a whole range of possible default pictures of God that you could be contending with. You may have a picture of God as an exacting parent, or maybe even a drill sergeant, one who just can't wait to send anyone who steps out of line straight to Hell, or you may have a picture of a distant or indifferent God. You may have a picture of a well-meaning but incompetent or ineffective God. He'd like to help, but his hands are tied.

Or maybe a benevolent old grandfather God who just wants you to have a nice time, and would never challenge you to grow. You may have a picture of a chronically disappointed God. This is the one that plagues me. I was blessed to have been given a pretty healthy God picture from my mentors, but I do find that I can default to a picture of a God who is mildly disappointed in me most of the time, you know, just sort of rolling His eyes at me.

Or if you're like a lot of other people, you may even have a picture of a sort of godfather God. He's very powerful and He can get stuff done for you, but don't get on His bad side.

These default pictures can be shaped by the voices of our parents, the voices of our teachers, the voices of our preachers, and the voices of our culture. But the truth is, holding a distorted picture of God has been a fundamental sickness that has plagued us really from the beginning.

Think of what happened with our ancestors in Genesis 3. Do you remember the story? Adam and Eve are in the garden with their good and beautiful God. Every evening He comes to walk with them in the garden, and they can't wait to see Him. They have everything they need for a full and flourishing life, until the serpent decides to launch an attack. And what is the serpent's MO? He suggests that God is holding out on them, that God can't be trusted, that God doesn't have their best interest at heart, and after they fall for the lie that God is not good, that God is not with them and for them, then the next time God comes to walk with them in the garden, in the cool of the day, they now see God as someone they need to hide from.

But God has not changed. They are the ones who have changed. Their sin and their shame distorts their perception of who God is. Sadly, the apple does not fall far from the tree, and this problem of distorted God pictures plagues us to this day.

When you read through the Gospels, you see that Jesus is constantly heartbroken by the pictures people hold of his Father. He offers one of the most beautiful stories, the parable of the prodigal son, to help us begin to picture just how good, and beautiful, and full of mercy his Father really is. So if the picture we hold of God is so incredibly critical to our formation,

What are some true things we can say about who God really is?

Maybe the first thing we can say about God is that

God is always greater and better than we can possibly imagine.

The psalmist tells us

Psalm 45:3 – Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.

God's greatness is unsearchable. His greatness is so vast that we can't begin to understand all of it. This means that, while our encounters with God are significant, God is always greater than our particular experience of Him. It reminds us that, while the language we have to describe God is helpful, God will always be more than anything we can say about Him. And it helps us see that while our theology and traditions can serve to point us to God, He will always transcend our doctrines and denominations. God is big.

God is very, very, very big. What's more, God is also better than we imagine. Love isn't something God does on and off as our behavior warrants it. No, God is love. It's His very being. He can't stop loving. It's who He is. You can trust Him to be good and to will your good without fail.

In the book of 1 John, the Apostle tells us twice that God is love, and then, in case we aren't getting the point, he puts it another way. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5

So whatever picture we hold of God, we can remind ourselves that God is always greater and always better than we imagine.

Maybe the second thing we can say about God is that

God’s character is clearly revealed to us in the person of Jesus. In fact, one of the ways you can check to see if your picture of God is healthy is to ask,

"Is there anything I believe about God's character that is in conflict with the character of Christ?"

Remember, Jesus said,

John 14:9 – Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

In his teaching, his actions, his sacrificial death, and his victorious resurrection, Jesus of Nazareth reveals to us the character of God. If you ever wonder if God is truly a God of both unsearchable greatness and unending love, compassion, and goodness, you can look at Jesus, and say a resounding yes.

I said a minute ago that God is always greater than we can imagine. That reality gets us in touch with God's transcendence. Now we want to also affirm that

God is closer and more accessible than we can possibly conceive.

God is not only transcendent, He is imminent, tenderly imminent. Through His Spirit, He abides in you and you in Him. In fact, the Apostle Paul says

Act 17:28a - 28 for “In him we live and move and have our being…”

God is very, very, very close.

A fourth thing that could help you clarify your picture of God is to affirm that ...

God is three in one.

Matthew 28:19 “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Jesus teaches us that God is more wonderful and more complex than we could ever imagine. Although the New Testament never uses the word Trinity, biblical writers teach us that God exists in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And here's the thing: because God has always been triune, we know that God has always been relational.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have always existed in a circle of deep love, of mutual affection, and fellowship, and delight. You were created not because God was lonely, or bored, or needed a science experiment, but because the Father, Son and Spirit had so much love, and fellowship, and affection between them that they wanted to widen the circle to create other beings who could participate in that life and that love. So that deep longing in your heart for relationship and for connection, that longing makes a whole lot of sense. It's what you were created for.

Now, our challenge is to remember that the Trinity is not a mystery to be solved, but a mystery to be worshiped, and a wonder to be loved. God is one, and God is also three in one, a relationship of love we are invited to enter into and participate in until we exclaim with Julian of Norwich,

"The Trinity suddenly filled my heart with the greatest joy. And I understood that in heaven, it will be like that forever for those who come there. For the Trinity is God, God is the Trinity, the Trinity is our maker and protector, the Trinity is our dear friend forever, our everlasting joy and bliss through our Lord Jesus Christ."

If you desire to be led into the abundant life Jesus wants to give you, you must have a sufficiently good and beautiful picture of God. The good news is, as you detect distortions in your picture of God, you can ask God himself to begin to heal them, and that healing will change not only the way you see God, but also, the way you see yourself. We'll talk about that in the next session. Until then, may the peace of our very good God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus

So...lets talk...

Reflect         

          What is resonating?

          Where do you feel resistance?

Discuss

What can you remember about your childhood picture of God? Do you think it still shapes the way you see him now?

Which of the “default” pictures of God (exacting parent; drill sergeant; distant or indifferent; well-meaning but ineffective; benevolent grandfather; chronically disappointed; other) is the most familiar to you?

God is (greater and better than we can imagine, revealed in Jesus, closer than we imagine, three-in-one). Do you sense an invitation to reflect more fully on one of those truths about God? If so, which one?

This week’s “Gracework” (homework)

Practice

Why is my picture of God so important?

Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders? EXODUS 15:11,

When distortions creep into our picture of God, their negative effects reverberate throughout our lives.  – Trevor Hudson

What comes into your mind when you think about God is one of the most important things about you. That’s because your “picture of God” deeply shapes your inner life and outward actions.

For example, if you hold a picture of a vindictive God, you will either be terribly fearful or you will feel justified in holding grudges and seeking revenge. But if you see God as quick to forgive, you are more likely to seek his company and to show mercy to those who offend you. If you think God is distant and indifferent, your relationship with him can’t help but be vague and impersonal. But if you see God as near and involved—a Father who not only loves you but likes you and wants good for you— well, it can change how you relate to God on a day-to-day basis. And the quality of that relationship determines the direction of your life.

Whatever your unformed or malformed pictures of God might be, they can be redrawn.  Spiritual formation in Jesus brings a true picture of God into focus

There is often a gap between our “professed” images of God—the things we say we believe—and our “default” pictures of God—the ideas we hold deep down. Try this exercise:Think of something hard you’ve been through. Write an honest prayer expressing how you felt about God in that moment—not what you were supposed to feel or think, but what you actually felt or thought. Then ask God to show you where and who he was in that moment.