When I was student in seminary I became aware of a prominent pastor in the area. He led a very large and influential church. Some of my classmates secured internships in his church and through them I began to hear stories about this man. Some of these stories were less than flattering and I began to form a less than positive picture of this man. I came to believe that he was aloof, cold and uncaring. A number of years later, while I was working on my doctorate, I took a class from this man. For the first time I actually encountered him face to face. What I discovered was that my image of him was completely wrong. He was articulate, approachable and genuinely caring. He completely won me over the day he agreed to have lunch with me…at McDonalds! A friendship began to develop that has continued through the years.
Many people have a similar negative attitude toward God as I did at first toward my friend. They have heard rumors of what God is like. These rumors tend to lean toward the negative, so people get the idea that God is aloof, distant and uncaring. But they have it wrong.
There is another angle to this story that is very important. My image of my friend would have remained unchanged if he had not invited me to get to know him. The only way I was going to really understand his true character was by him revealing it to me. The same is true about God. God has not left us on our own to figure out who He is. God has revealed himself in ways we can all understand.
God has revealed himself through the world that He created. His fingerprints are all over it. Romans 1:18-20 tells us that God has revealed much about himself through creation. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. But there is a problem. What we can learn about God from creation is like the rumors I heard in seminary. Creation gives us a cloudy, vague image of God. It tells us that He exists and that He is powerful, but it doesn’t give us the full picture.
God supplemented this general information with more detail through His prophets. Throughout human history, God has used people as His spokesmen to reveal a clearer picture of His character.
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, [Hebrews 1:1 (NIV)] This would be similar to us talking with a close associate of the person in question. They can give us some first-hand impressions. These serve to clarify our knowledge about God, but still leave us short of knowing God.
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, [Hebrews 1:1 (NIV)] This would be similar to us talking with a close associate of the person in question. They can give us some first-hand impressions. These serve to clarify our knowledge about God, but still leave us short of knowing God.
When Jesus came, He opened the door for us to move from rumors to genuine relationship. On several occasions Jesus made it clear that He was the ultimate revelation of the character and person of God. …but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. [Hebrews 1:2-3 (NIV)] By getting to know Jesus we get the chance to really get to know God as well. It is an open invitation to enter into a positive relationship with the creator of the universe.
I am so glad that I was able to move from rumors about a distant pastor to a relationship with a friend who has encouraged and supported me on my pastoral journey. I am even more glad that I have moved beyond a vague, cloudy image of a distant God to a relationship with my Heavenly Father who cares for me more than I will ever fully comprehend.
Psalms 103:8-18 (NIV)
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
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