Axiom 1- God is love, so it is all about love.
Axiom 2- God is always present and at work.
The bottom line of this second axiom is that God is present, actively working among us right now and always. This is not a nice idea to make us feel better; it is the bedrock reality of the universe. It is the truest thing about the world.
We have all built a custom god who lives in our imaginations. These gods must be confronted with the light of the truth of who God is.
My goal is to present the clearest picture of who God is, because, I believe that if you see who God really is, you can't help but fall in love with Him.
The Distant Deity
The Demanding Judge
The Deterministic Micromanager
Axiom 3- God is just like Jesus.
Jesus perfectly reveals the true nature of God (Hebrews 1:3).
In Jesus, the fullness of God dwells (Colossians 2:9)
If you know Jesus, you will also know God (John 14:7-11).
Jesus makes God known in a final, definitive way (John 1:18).
The Distant Deity
John 14:16-18
The Demanding Judge
God doesn't despise the sinner. He desires to be with the sinner, to heal and forgive and save the sinner.
The Deterministic Micromanager
Exercise
If we all have custom gods in our imagination, in what ways have you replaced the one true God for these lesser gods?
Pay attention over the next few days whenever you are aware of your limitations, weaknesses, sin, flaws, or anything else you consider undesirable. Notice the moments when you weren’t at your best, or when you felt shame about something. Keep a list of these moments. This might be hard. You may need to do this as you go (keeping a journal or making notes on your phone), or you could do it at the end of each day, but make sure you write these moments down, rather than just try to remember them.
When you get a few moments for reflection, perhaps at the end of each day, reflect on your list of “moments of badness” and ask yourself this question: How do I imagine and experience God responding to me right now? Not what you know about God, but how you actually experience God in your body, in your emotions, in your thoughts. Use your imagination and discern how you feel when you become aware of your badness. Whatever picture or feeling comes up in these moments (not on your best day) is likely who you think God really is.
As you reflect on how you experience God relating to you in your badness, think about which false image of God it’s most like:
Are you experiencing the Distant Deity?
Are you experiencing the Demanding Judge?
Are you experiencing the Deterministic Micromanager?
Perhaps you’d characterize your false image of God in some other way (like the Doting Grandparent? The Disappointed Teacher? The Naive Idealist?). What image or words would you use to describe the God who shows up when you’re not at your best?
Take some time to describe this God.
Notice the God Jesus reveals. After spending a few days on noticing God in your imagination, set aside thirty minutes when you can be alone and quiet, without interruptions. Slowly read and meditate on the passages below in which Jesus gives us a picture of how God interacts with people in their badness. For each passage, see what you notice as you imagine the scene, and write down the good news Jesus decWhat lares in each passage. What does he say to people in their badness? What does he do for people in their badness?
How does Jesus communicate God’s goodness to people in the midst of their badness?
John 8:1-11
Luke 5:1-11
John 21:1-19
Luke 19:1-10
Think about other Gospel passages you know of. What do you notice about how Jesus regularly treats people he loves in their badness? How is this the same or different from how you experience God in your badness? Now go back to your list of “moments of badness,” and imagine a God who is just like Jesus meeting you in those moments. What changes about the way God relates to you in your badness? Take some time to describe this, and rest in it.
