The God I Know

It is a typical human endeavor to create labels for ourselves. We like to define things because we believe when we do we gain some kind of power over them. We give labels to everything. Just think of going to a doctor with some kind of health problem. The first thing we want to know is: what is it? Is there a name for what I have? If we can name it, then we must be able to do something about it. In a like manner we create idols, images of things the way we want them to be. We reduce things to images that we can comprehend. Sometimes we make our idols out of wood or stone or metal. But most of the time we create our idols in our minds. Think about when you’ve heard something about someone you’d never met. You probably created a mental image of that person only to find later, when you actually met, they didn’t fit your mental image. We all do that to some degree. The problems arise when we react to our mental image, or idol, instead of reacting to the actual person. We may have heard that someone was a liar or thief or some other dark, nefarious type. When we met them, instead of meeting the real person in front of us, we reacted to the image we had of a liar or thief. Someone who themselves may have been the victim of a liar or a gossip. That’s one reason why God tells us in His word not to gossip.

We do these things, create labels and images in our minds, of God too. If the labels or images we create in our minds are not those of the God revealed in the scriptures then we have created an idol. When we worship the image we have of our god, we are worshipping an idol. We can do this all on our own but we have to remember too that we have powerful enemies in the spirit realm. Satan and his demons are attempting to lead us away from the One True God. They encourage us to create false images of God with our hands and in our minds. They encourage us to worship that which is not God. The world is full of false gods that mankind worships. We hear about them every day. We can’t just unconsciously allow such things in our minds or they can slowly change us too. We have to study the scriptures, pray and obey God to come to know Him. When we hear or read someone else’s labels or images of God we need to consciously remind ourselves, That’s NOT the God I know.

Here are just a few of the common misconceptions about Our Heavenly Father:

God is not opposite but equal to Satan. Lucifer was the being created by God who rebelled and became Satan. God is not at war with Satan. Satan has made war on God and lost: he will do so again…and lose again. He is in NO way equal to God. We shold not mistake the fact that God allows him to do what he does, for now, as anything approaching equality with our Heavenly Father.

God is not desperately trying to save all of mankind. If he were He’d be losing. This is ‘A’ day of salvation. God is not calling all of mankind now. The day will come when He will.

He doesn’t punish people for breaking His commandments in the way many think. When someone touches a hot stove God doesn’t send an angel down to burn their flesh. Sin, breaking God’s law, brings it’s own punishment just like a hot stove does it’s own burning. Like a parent punishes a child for intentionally breaking a rule, God punishes those who willfully disobey Him.

God doesn’t make ‘deals’. He laid down His covenant, His B’rith, and we choose to follow it or not. He set before us life and death and He implores us to choose life.

God isn’t in nature. He is apart from and outside of the universe. He cannot be reduced to any form in time, space, matter, energy or any other thing He created.

God doesn’t absolve people from obeying Him for simply accepting Christ as their savior. Faith requires action. To Love God, to come to understand Him, we have to obey Him.

God doesn’t automatically send someone who hasn’t accepted Christ to hell. He wouldn’t send a young child, or anyone else, to hell for never having heard of, or understood, Christ. He’s not a vengeful old man waiting to punish sinners or unbelievers. He doesn’t take any pleasure in punishing disobedient children. He wouldn’t send, even a disobedient child, into an ever-burning hell fire. Those who consciously reject Him will be burned up and even their memory forgotten.

He doesn’t love some of His children and hate others…He loves all His children.

He is not a part of some mysterious trinity. His Holy Spirit is His power that emanates from Him not some ethereal being, more powerful even than God the Father.

God is NOT ‘the goddess’ or ‘our Higher Power’ or ‘the deity’ or any of our other euphemisms. God reveals Himself to us as our Heavenly Father. God will not be reduced to any form we can conceive. God’s name is hallowed. It is not to be taken casually or lightly. In a like way His sons name is not to be taken casually or lightly.

God cannot be defined. To define something is to categorize it; to group it with other like-things. There is only One God. There is nothing else in that category. Because we are mortal beings with three-pound brains our brains cannot contain or conceive of God in His totality. We can only come to know what He reveals of Himself. Because we are limited in our various languages He uses terms that we can understand to teach us.

Only the scriptures reveal to us the One, True God. He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of everything there is. He is righteous, just, patient, merciful, everlasting…and so much more… God is a spirit. We must worship Him in spirit and truth. God is Love and Love is ultimately how we come to know Him.