What Is Your View of God?

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

— John 14:9

Imagine yourself in your favorite quiet place and . . . God shows up. You see Him, hear Him, and feel Him. He is there with you – ever so loving, gentle, kind and yet powerful and strong. You shut your eyes so as not to ruin the moment. You want to peek; is this real? His presence is tangible; His voice is kind and tender toward you. You hear Him ask a few questions . . . “How do you see me? How do you picture me? Who do you say I am? What am I like?” In Isaiah 40 God asks the prophet in verse 18 “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?” And in verse 25 “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.

He is asking you, too, to whom do you liken God? What is God like? Here are some probabilities:

• Do you see God as an aloof authority figure, distant and disinterested in the details and goings on in your life? 
• Do you think of him as a disciplinarian – someone who is waiting to catch you when you fail – who will enforce discipline until you get it right? 
• Do you see him as all powerful, able to do anything but often doing nothing? Do you see him sitting in heaven deciding whether to intervene or not, based on His mood and your behavior?
• Perhaps you see him as a hard task master who places requirements on you – ones that you can not fulfill, yet if you don’t he will be angry and pull away from you. 
• Do you see him accepting you when you are lovable but turning his face when you are disobedient and don’t measure up?

We all are a product of our revelation of God. Our image of God affects our ability to receive. So If we view Him as anything other than Love and Goodness then that is what will be evidenced in our life. We will be unable to receive from Him. We will be unable to see His Goodness and Love. We will always have the feeling that we don’t measure up – that we haven’t got it together enough to be worthy to receive from Him.

So who is the God in the Bible? What is this God really like? Jesus said, “he who has seen Me has seen the Father”.  So God, your Father – your Abba, wants to comfort you, as Jesus did, when you are hurting. He wants to take care of you, as Jesus did. He wants to laugh with you and cry with you, as Jesus did. He wants to have relationship with you as a friend, just as Jesus did. He wants to bring healing to you, as Jesus did. He wants to encourage you and help you, as Jesus did. He wants good for you, He wants to bless you and He wants you to have an abundant life – now.

Ask yourself . . . How do I see God, my Abba? Be honest with yourself. We want to think better of ourselves and “of course, I have a right view of God”. But do you? If your picture is different from what the Bible says, change it. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you. It will make a difference in the way you live and view life.

“LOVE came into my humanity to wrap his arms around me.”